The Mummy

Although the mummy’s external appearance is characterised by its linen bandages, imaging techniques (X-rays and computed tomography) allow us to see beneath them. The skeleton is largely complete below the second cervical vertebra, although the head is missing. However, bone fragments from the upper cervical spine and teeth discovered in the damaged parts of the mummy bear witness to the fact that a complete mummy was originally transported from Egypt to Germany. Contemporary witnesses who saw the mummy in the natural history collection at the Karl-Ziegler-Schule during their school days also report that the head was originally still present.

Pathohistological examinations have revealed that the male deceased was no more than 30 years old at the time of his death approximately 3,000 years ago, as can be inferred from the low bone density. He was originally about 1.65 metres tall. The body is comparatively well-preserved beneath the bandages. Individual intervertebral discs are still visible in the area of the spine. Presumably due to compression during the bandaging process, some vertebrae have become displaced.

Several fractures in the legs, the indented sternum and the displacement of the vertebrae certainly occurred after death. The cause is, on the one hand, the tight bandaging; on the other hand, however, it may also have been due to the body being compressed when the mummy was placed in the coffin. The fact that the foot area was severely damaged is due to the mummy having been stored in a standing position for a long time. However, the foot skeleton was eventually fully restored.

During restoration, the missing head was replaced with a skull made of fibreglass and synthetic resin and wrapped in bandages (of slightly varying colours). As the artificial head is not permanently attached to the body, it can be removed if necessary. It is held in place by the body shell, which was custom-made to fit this mummy precisely.