FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE WORLD’S FIRST PREGNANT ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MUMMY

1

FIRST OF ITS KIND

The first pregnant ancient Egyptian mummy has been discovered, dating back more

than 2,000 years. It’s the world’s only known case of an embalmed pregnant woman with preserved soft tissue, with scans revealing the woman was 28 weeks into her pregnancy — about seven months — when she died. It was a discovery that shocked Wojciech Ejsmond, the lead author of the study published Wednesday in the Journal of Archaeological Science. “I was speechless because we didn’t expect such a discovery,” he told the National Post. “The pregnancy was a

complete surprise.”

2

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

When anthropologist Marzena Ozarek-szilke was observing CT scans and X-rays of the pelvis area, she saw some anomalies and some “weird looking objects inside.” Upon closer investigation, she found the remains of a fetus that had been left intact in the uterus and mummified together with its mother, who is thought to be in her 20s. It took the researchers aback — they thought the mummified individual was a man because it was found in a coffin made for male priests during the first century BCE.

3

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Though there had been some radiological examination of the mummy in the 1990s, the bones of the fetus were so fragile that previous technology made it “impossible to notice such details,” Ejsmond said.

4

MYSTERY WOMAN

The mummy was sourced in the 1800s and donated to the University of Warsaw in December 1826, where it was said to have been found in the Royal Tombs in Thebes — possibly in the Valley of the Kings or Valley of the Queens. It’s believed the woman lived approximately in the time of Queen Cleopatra when the city of Thebes thrived. Because of the large amount of jewelry and amulets

that the woman was buried with, Ejsmond said it indicates she was from a wealthy family.

5

THE FETUS

It’s also unclear why the fetus

was left inside the mother upon burial, he said, because there have been instances of stillborn children being separately mummified. During the embalming process, ancient Egyptians would remove the brain, lungs, liver, stomach and

intestines of the person, and place the organs in canopic jars

to be watched over by gods.