Scans of an ancient Egyptian child mummy interred in a tomb 2,000 years ago have revealed they were buried with a bandaged, pus-filled, leg wound.
The child — thought to be between 2.5–4 years old — has the first-known example of an original ancient Egyptian dressing.
The nameless girl was originally found in Hawara’s ‘Tomb of Aline’ in 1892. Thought to date back to around 24 AD, this grave is notable in that three of its eight mummified occupants had been decorated with a portrait of the individual.
The girl, depicted wearing simple jewellery and ringlets in her hair, is thought to have been the middle of the three daughters of Aline.
This middle-or-upper-class woman, after whom the tomb was named, was identified thanks to an inscription which also noted she died aged 35.
Her daughter, along with 20 other mummies, were X-ray imaged by experts based in Germany as part of a search for examples of ancient infections.
The findings, they said, offer a glimpse at ancient Egyptian maladies and treatments.
Scans of an ancient Egyptian child mummy interred in a tomb 2,000 years ago have revealed that the 2.5–4-year-old was buried with a bandaged, pus-filled , leg wound. Pictured: an X-ray slice running longitudinally through the girl’s foot and lower left leg. The bandage, underneath the mummy’s textile wrappings, can be seen highlighted with a solid arrow, while hyper-dense mᴀsses that are consistent with dried pus deposits are highlighted with dashed arrows
The preserved individual has the first-known example of an original ancient Egyptian dressing, and was found in the ‘Tomb of Aline’ at Hawara in 1892. Thought to date back to 24 AD, this grave is notable in that three of its eight mummified occupants had been decorated with a portrait of said individual. Pictured: the mummified girl, thought to be a daughter of Aline, whose portrait was painted on linen covering her face
The nameless girl (left), depicted wearing simple jewellery and ringlets in her hair, is thought to have been the middle of the three daughters of Aline (right)
