Scientists Uncover New Secrets of the "Screaming" Mummy Using Advanced Technologies

Advanced technologies and innovative research methods have allowed scientists to shed new light on the mystery of the "screaming" mummy discovered nearly a century ago near Luxor. Researchers believe that the expression of agony on the famous Egyptian mummy's face may hint at the woman's agonizing death.

In 1935, archaeologists from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York stumbled upon another burial during excavations of the tomb of Senmut, the architect and overseer of royal works for Queen Hatshepsut, in Deir el-Bahari, near Luxor.

Beneath Senmut's tomb, they found a wooden coffin containing a woman's mummy, her mouth frozen in a perpetual scream.

The results of the new study, led by Professor Sahar Salim from the Kasr Al-Aini Hospital at Cairo University, were published in the journal *Frontiers in Medicine*. Using techniques such as computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy, and specialized infrared imaging equipment, Egyptian researchers examined the mummy to uncover details about the woman's death and the subsequent embalming process.

"She was embalmed using expensive imported materials," explained the scientist who has worked with this mummy for many years. "This, along with the well-preserved appearance of the mummy, contradicts the traditional view that preserving internal organs indicates poor embalming."

Researchers determined that the screaming woman was around 48 years old at the time of her death and stood approximately 153 centimeters tall. She suffered from mild spinal arthritis and had lost several teeth before her death, likely due to extraction.

Surprisingly, rather than following the classic embalming method of removing all organs except the heart, the researchers found that the brain, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, and intestines were preserved, which was also unusual for embalming during the New Kingdom period (1550–1069 BC).

The woman was embalmed with juniper imported from the Eastern Mediterranean and East Africa, as well as frankincense, likely from South Arabia. These materials were considered luxury items in ancient Egypt.

Additionally, her natural hair was dyed with henna and juniper, and her long wig, made from date palm fibers, was treated with quartz, magnetite, and albite crystals, likely to give the strands rigidity and achieve a black color, which the ancient Egyptians regarded as a symbol of youth.

While scientists could not establish the exact cause of the woman’s death, they suggested that the remarkable expression on the mummy's face might be a result of cadaveric spasm—a form of muscle tension following a violent death.

According to Salim, the "screaming woman" is a true "time capsule" revealing how she died and was mummified. He added that the use of expensive foreign materials during the embalming process confirms the existence of trade connections in ancient Egypt.

Since 1998, the mummy has been housed in the Egyptian Museum, having been moved from the Kasr Al-Aini Medical School in Cairo. The wooden coffin and two rings adorned with scarab images found in the burial became part of the exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

A study conducted several years ago on the "screaming mummy" established that the woman was of royal blood and over 60 years old at the time of her death. At that time, Salim's team reported that the princess had died suddenly from a heart attack due to coronary artery atherosclerosis. They speculated that by the time her body was discovered, it had already begun to stiffen, resulting in her burial with her mouth open.