The Warsaw Mummy Project, led by experts from the Polish Academy of Sciences, aims to research all mummies housed in museums. As part of this initiative, researchers worked to learn more about a woman believed to be in her 20s.

The first-ever mummified remains of an ancient Egyptian pregnant woman have been discovered in Thebes. The woman died over 2,000 years ago at approximately 28 weeks of pregnancy. Scans of the body revealed the presence of a fetus, estimated to be between 26-30 weeks old, inside the mother.

This marks the first time a pregnant mummy has been found. The woman’s body was carefully wrapped in fabrics and buried with a rich collection of amulets to aid her in the afterlife. The researchers are unsure why the fetus was not mummified separately, but speculate it may have been too young to have its own name and therefore needed to travel to the next life within its mother.

According to the study’s lead author, Dr. Wojciech Ejsmond, this is the “first discovery of a pregnant embalmed body” and represents “the best preserved ancient body of a pregnant woman” found to date. The woman was laid to rest adorned in fine fabrics and accompanied by amulets representing the four sons of the god Horus, suggesting she held a position of power in Thebes.

According to the study writers, the mummified remains of the ancient Egyptian pregnant woman were discovered in the royal tombs of Thebes, Upper Egypt. She came from the elite of the Theban culture.

The woman and her fetus were transported to Warsaw, Poland in 1826, during the time of some of the most famous Egyptian Valley of the Kings findings, and are now on display at the National Museum in Warsaw.

The study authors state that this mummy “provides new possibilities for pregnancy studies in ancient times, which can be compared with and related to current cases.” They also note that this “specimen sheds a light on an unresearched aspect of ancient Egyptian burial customs and interpretations of pregnancy in the context of ancient Egyptian religion.”

Lead author Dr. Wojciech Ejsmond added that “for Egyptologists, this is a fascinating discovery because we know little about perinatal health and childhood in ancient Egypt.” He explained that physicians can now study the fetus’ intestinal content to gather information on the development of the immune system in ancient times.

The fetus was mummified alongside its mother, found in the lower part of the lesser pelvis and partly in the lower part of the greater pelvis, but was not removed from its original location.