Scientists find mummy of 2300-year-old boy buried with 49 amulets in Egypt
This famous "Golden Boy" was discovered in 1916 in a necropolis in Nag el-Hasay, located in southern Egypt, which was used between 332 and 30 BC. Throughout this time, his body was kept in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo until a group of scientists led by Sahar Salim from Cairo University began to investigate it. The mummy was found in two coffins: the outer one had an inscription in Greek (the burials took place during the Hellenistic period), and the inner one was made of wood and served as a sarcophagus.
This was reported by Oxu.az.
According to the results of a computed tomography scan, the teenager died at the age of 14-15. He was 128 cm tall, and his body showed no signs of violent death or disease. It is likely that the death was due to natural causes. His teeth were in excellent condition, with no signs of caries, and no wisdom teeth had erupted.
The funeral inventory included 49 amulets belonging to 21 types. They were placed on different parts of the body to help the teenager pass to the afterlife. He had sandals on his feet to help him get out of the coffin, and his body was decorated with fern garlands.
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"Among the amulets are the Eye of Horus, a scarab, an amulet of the sun on the horizon (ahet), a 'placenta', the Knot of Isis, and others. Many of them were made of gold, and some of them were made of semiprecious stones, fired clay or earthenware. Their purpose was to protect the body and give it strength in the afterlife," said Dr. Salim.
The mummy had a golden "tongue" in its mouth so that the boy could speak in the afterlife. In the chest was a golden scarab beetle that was supposed to help the deceased at the judgment of Osiris, during which the gods weighed the "heart" of a person and assessed whether he was worthy of the afterlife.
As a reminder, Bronze Age artifacts and "elite tombs" were found in northern China.