A team of scientists led by Sahar Salim, Professor of Radiology at the Cairo University School of Medicine, studied with X-ray a mummy which was discovered in 1916 and has remained in his cellar to this day Cairo Museum without inspection. The conclusions were impressive. The study showed, based on the density of the bones and the absence of teeth that grow at an older age, that the body belonged to a boy of about 14 or 15 years old. His body was covered with 49 amulets, leading scientists to conclude that the boy was probably of noble origin or came from a wealthy family. Among the talismans he had a golden scarab in his esophagus and a golden tongue in his mouth.

Dr. Salim stated that the talismans were “beautifully stylized as three columns between the folds of the wrapper and inside the body of the mummy. These include the eye of Horus, the scarab, the amulet of the horizon, the knot of Isis, and others.” The boy was wearing sandals, which were supposed to allow him to get out of the coffin. According to the ritual Book of the Dead of the ancient Egyptians, the deceased had to wear white sandals to be pious and clean.

Another of the discovered talismans had the shape of two fingers and was placed next to the boy’s penis. According to the British Museum, these amulets represent the hand of an embalmer. Dr. Salim’s team said they were placed next to the embalming incision in the hope that they would help the body heal in the afterlife. However, the talisman in question is often found in various parts of mummified bodies and the interpretation of its symbolism is not entirely clear.

But the most important thing is that, as the X-ray examination showed, the mummy was not circumcised. This is very important, because, according to scientists, it is known that in ancient Egypt, boys were circumcised no later than 13 years old. Since the age of the mummified child is estimated at about 15 years, there are reasonable suspicions that the child had a different origin. “He could have come from anywhere. He could be a Nubian, a Greek, a Persian, anyone from Asia Minor, where there was no tradition of circumcision. What we can say is that he was probably not Jewish,” said the head of the investigation department. The reason this is interesting is because it gives us information that either the Egyptians mummified people of different ethnicities, or that other peoples had the same tradition regarding their dead, thus giving us another piece of the everyday puzzle. life and traditions. ancient peoples.