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Water Iturech 536 bce

Koenraad Donker van Heel

in Djekhy & Son: Doing Business in Ancient Egypt

The year 536 bce had been a rather hectic business year for Iturech, or at least one that was very well documented in P. Louvre E 7834, 7836, 7838, and 7843. Choachytes needed to collect as many ... More

The year 536 bce had been a rather hectic business year for Iturech, or at least one that was very well documented in P. Louvre E 7834, 7836, 7838, and 7843. Choachytes needed to collect as many mummies as possible.Many mummies meant much work, and much work meant high income. In 536 Iturech had an interest in at least five tombs in the Theban necropolis on the west bank of the Nile.Less

Reconstruction of a 3D Mummy Portrait from Roman Egypt

Alf Linney, João Campos, and Ghassan Alusi

in Images and Artefacts of the Ancient World

This chapter focuses on the reconstruction of the portrait mummy of Hermione, which was excavated in 1911. Hermione lived during the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius and belonged to the Greek ... More

This chapter focuses on the reconstruction of the portrait mummy of Hermione, which was excavated in 1911. Hermione lived during the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius and belonged to the Greek immigrants of ancient Egypt who were descendants of the soldiers who have fought Alexander the Great and the Ptolomies. Hermione is believed to have been a school teacher, as her coffin portrait bears the Greek inscription ‘Hermione grammatike’. To reconstruct the face of Hermione, x-ray imaging processes were first employed to gain vital information without moving the painted cartonnage and wrappings of the mummy. Computed tomography and CT scanning technology was also used to provide a measurement of the 3D distribution of x-ray absorption coefficients throughout the scanned volume. This more advanced form of scanning allowed for the creation of 3D reconstruction of the volume. For the 3D reconstruction of the face of Hermione, four methods were necessary. These were the acquisition of 3D data on what lies inside the wrappings, the 3D reconstruction of the skull, the reconstruction of the soft tissues over the skull, and the application of texture to the reconstructed facial surface.Less

Takabuti’s Legacy

David Tosh

in Life and Times of Takabuti in Ancient Egypt: Investigating the Belfast Mummy

A reflection on the significance of Takabuti’s mummy, on sustaining interest in ancient Egypt and the work of scientists and museums.

Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies

Salima Ikram

in Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt

For most people mummies are synonymous with Egypt. However, it is less well known that the ancient Egyptians mummified animals as well as humans. For the ancient Egyptians, the act of mummification ... More

For most people mummies are synonymous with Egypt. However, it is less well known that the ancient Egyptians mummified animals as well as humans. For the ancient Egyptians, the act of mummification ensured that the body of a creature would be preserved forever, and thus they conferred the potential for eternal life upon it. Throughout history, however, animal mummies, like their human counterparts, had little value as artifacts. Many animal mummies have survived, and are now valued as sources of information on the culture and environment of ancient Egypt. Broadly speaking, animal mummies can be divided into four different types: beloved pets, buried with their owners; victual mummies, consisting of funerary food offerings for humans; sacred animals, worshiped during their lifetime and mummified with pomp upon their death; and votive mummies, dedicated as offerings at the shrines of specific gods to whom these animals were sacred.Less

How Did Takabuti Die?

Robert Loynes

in Life and Times of Takabuti in Ancient Egypt: Investigating the Belfast Mummy

How did Takabuti die? Although initial studies revealed no definitive cause of death, recent analysis has provided intriguing new data: the presence of a penetrating injury in the back of the left ... More

How did Takabuti die? Although initial studies revealed no definitive cause of death, recent analysis has provided intriguing new data: the presence of a penetrating injury in the back of the left upper rib cage that had been sealed with a pack of resin mixed with granular material. There is no evidence of wound-healing, so this is the most likely cause of death. New research attempts to identify the weapons/instruments involved and concludes the Takabuti was murdered. Imaging analysis has also provided information about the mummification procedure. At the time of Takabuti’s death, it was customary to remove the brain by means of a metal hook inserted up the nose. However, in this instance, the brain was extracted more unusually via the foramen magnum at the base of the skull, and exceptionally, the neck area was then filled in with a compact mass of resin. Mummies of this period are frequently filled with a mixture of mud, sawdust, aromatic resins and aromatic substances such as cinnamon. The original investigators of Takabuti found that the body was filled with a mixture of powders: in the current project, the main component in abdominal samples obtained from the mummy was sawdust.Less

Conclusion

Doris V. Sutherland

in The Mummy

This concluding chapter addresses the recurring themes of ancient Egypt and the mummy in popular culture. The treasures of Tutankhamun had been unpacked and examined by the public, directly or ... More

This concluding chapter addresses the recurring themes of ancient Egypt and the mummy in popular culture. The treasures of Tutankhamun had been unpacked and examined by the public, directly or through reproduced images. These images are those of age-old artefacts, pharaohs, Egyptian princesses, and mummies. The names of the principal characters change: sometimes they are Imhotep and Anck-es-en-Amon, other times Kharis and Ananka, but they are always recognisable. Moreover, these characters return in many different forms. Ultimately, the living mummy has joined the vampires, the zombies, the knife-gloved killers, the ghost girls in TV sets, and all those other monsters created in horror films.Less

Literary Precursors

Doris V. Sutherland

in The Mummy

This chapter discusses the portrayal of mummies and ancient Egypt in fantastic literature. While not necessarily the basis of a coherent subgenre, mummies were a recurring theme in the supernatural ... More

This chapter discusses the portrayal of mummies and ancient Egypt in fantastic literature. While not necessarily the basis of a coherent subgenre, mummies were a recurring theme in the supernatural literature of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as authors of the fantastic found their imaginations fired by the latest developments in Egyptology. Stories from this period often differ significantly from the mummy films that would later develop in Hollywood, but certain aspects of them are nonetheless echoed by Universal Pictures' subgenre-defining 1932 film The Mummy. The chapter then describes haunted mummies and walking mummies. There are three writers in particular who stand out as the most likely influences upon Universal's The Mummy: Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle, and H. Rider Haggard.Less

Horror and Fantasy in The Mummy

Doris V. Sutherland

in The Mummy

This chapter explores the horror and fantasy in The Mummy (1932). Universal Pictures' treatments of the vampire and werewolf themes had specific bodies of folklore to draw upon for inspiration, but ... More

This chapter explores the horror and fantasy in The Mummy (1932). Universal Pictures' treatments of the vampire and werewolf themes had specific bodies of folklore to draw upon for inspiration, but as The Mummy featured what was for all intents and purposes a new variety of monster, the studio had a blank slate. The film not only introduced audiences to the living mummy Imhotep but also transported them to an entire world of gods, magic, and curses. As well as taking inspiration from weird fiction and popular Egyptology, The Mummy frequently uses contemporary horror films as reference points, synthesising both old and new to create the latest movie monster. In doing so, it established most of the conventions that would be re-used in later mummy films.Less

The Legacy of The Mummy

Doris V. Sutherland

in The Mummy

This chapter highlights the legacy of The Mummy (1932). Ever since the 1930s, the plot elements and iconography of the film have been re-used, re-interpreted, and re-worked in myriad forms. Universal ... More

This chapter highlights the legacy of The Mummy (1932). Ever since the 1930s, the plot elements and iconography of the film have been re-used, re-interpreted, and re-worked in myriad forms. Universal Pictures' follow-ups to The Mummy began eight years after the original film came out, by which time the studio's horror output had lost some of its spark from the early half of the 1930s. First came The Mummy's Hand in 1940, then The Mummy's Tomb in 1942 and The Mummy's Ghost and The Mummy's Curse in 1944. Eventually, Britain's Hammer Films obtained full remake rights to the Universal horror filmography. The chapter then looks at other mummy films made outside Universal and Hammer. In the era of franchise blockbusters, The Mummy remains a viable cinematic brand. While the original Universal Mummy series ended in 1955 and the Hammer revival in 1971, the 1990s saw Universal attempt to recreate The Mummy for a new generation.Less

Painted Hellenes: Mummy Portraits from Late Roman Egypt

Susan Walker

in Approaching Late Antiquity: The Transformation from Early to Late Empire

About one thousand mummy portraits have survived from Roman Egypt. They constitute a unique record in colour of a group of individuals, many resident in the towns and villages of the Fayum, but ... More

About one thousand mummy portraits have survived from Roman Egypt. They constitute a unique record in colour of a group of individuals, many resident in the towns and villages of the Fayum, but others living in the settlements of the Nile Valley and even on the Mediterranean littoral. This chapter explores the changes in representation of these persons in mummy portraits of the later 3rd and 4th centuries ad, when the educated elite of Hellenic cultural affiliation were concentrated in settlements in the Nile valley.Less

Introduction

Doris V. Sutherland

in The Mummy

This introductory chapter provides an overview of The Mummy (1932). While the setting and concepts of The Mummy were relatively new to horror cinema as it existed in 1932, the film's creative team ... More

This introductory chapter provides an overview of The Mummy (1932). While the setting and concepts of The Mummy were relatively new to horror cinema as it existed in 1932, the film's creative team nonetheless had plenty of sources from which to take inspiration. Universal Pictures' previous horror films had generally taken place against a European backdrop informed by English Gothic and German Expressionism. The Mummy, on the other hand, turned to Egypt and its ancient history for inspiration. In doing so, the film hit upon what was, as far as cinema was concerned, a fresh variety of monster: a living mummy. Thanks to The Mummy, the cloth-wrapped Egyptian revenant would join the vampire, the werewolf, and Frankenstein's Monster as a horror icon, one that would appear in innumerable sequels, imitations, and parodies. The chapter then details the plot of The Mummy.Less

Conversations with The Mummy: Critical Reactions

Doris V. Sutherland

in The Mummy

This chapter describes the critical reception of The Mummy (1932). When the film was screened, professional film critics were intrigued by the central figure of Boris Karloff, the actor who had been ... More

This chapter describes the critical reception of The Mummy (1932). When the film was screened, professional film critics were intrigued by the central figure of Boris Karloff, the actor who had been transformed into a living mummy. The Los Angeles Times even offered a prescient take that foresaw Karloff's future place in the film pantheon. As for the film itself, however, the critical reception was more lukewarm. Critics who had grown tired of horror cinema found little in The Mummy to change their opinions. The chapter then looks at re-evaluations and later evaluations of the film. Critics continue to find weaknesses, but they also continue to find rewarding new ways of approaching The Mummy. On the whole, The Mummy has managed to stand firm despite early critical indifference and subsequent changes in audience tastes. The film's position as the start of a subgenre has ensured that The Mummy retains immortality as a popular culture artefact.Less

Natural Mummification as a Non-Normative Mortuary Custom of Modern Period Sicily (1600–1800)

Dario Piombino-Mascali and Kenneth C. Nystrom

in The Odd, the Unusual, and the Strange: Bioarchaeological Explorations of Atypical Burials

The island of Sicily is home to a large number of spontaneously mummified remains, dating from the 16th to 19th centuries CE, most of which are located in the renowned Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, ... More

The island of Sicily is home to a large number of spontaneously mummified remains, dating from the 16th to 19th centuries CE, most of which are located in the renowned Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, where the oldest mummy is buried (Brother Silvestro da Gubbio, who died in 1599). These remains represent unique evidence of deviant practices within the South of Italy, as the large majority of remains was interred in communal graves, cemeteries, or burials within religious buildings. Only a selection of the local population, mainly formed by members of the aristocracy, middle class citizens, and the clergy, underwent a complex treatment that included dehydration of the corpses, cleaning, and filling of the cavities with either animal or vegetal matter, and eventually clothing and exposure in either a wall niche or a coffin. Since 2007, the Sicily Mummy Project has aimed to scientifically investigate this important biocultural heritage and understand local mummification practices. This study sheds new light on mortuary customs and funeral variability in the region and contextualizes and interprets this treatment of the dead through comparisons with the anthropological and sociological literature.Less

Manufacturing Divinity: The Technology of Mummification

Salima Ikram

in Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt

Work carried out on the animal mummies in the Egyptian Museum, as well as in other collections, shows that, like humans, animals were mummified in a variety of ways throughout Egyptian history. This ... More

Work carried out on the animal mummies in the Egyptian Museum, as well as in other collections, shows that, like humans, animals were mummified in a variety of ways throughout Egyptian history. This chapter describes different methods employed for mummification. Mummification basically involves the evisceration and desiccation of the body. Desiccation is done using common salt or natron that draws out the bodily fluids leaving the dry husk. The second method of mummification involves the washing out of the intestines, and drying the body, using natron, before anointing and wrapping it. The third method of mummification uses no incision for evisceration. Rather, oil of cedar or pine was injected into the anus, the orifice plugged, and the liquid left to melt the viscera. A fourth method used on some animal mummies involved defleshing. A fifth variation on mummification involved the total immersion of live birds in vats of melted resin/pitch/bitumen.Less

Protecting Pets and Cleaning Crocodiles: The Animal Mummy Project

Salima Ikram

in Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt

The author of this chapter made a decision to study the animal mummy collection, and initiated the Animal Mummy Project, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Egyptian ... More

The author of this chapter made a decision to study the animal mummy collection, and initiated the Animal Mummy Project, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Egyptian Museum, with Nasry Iskander being the designated collaborator from the latter institution. This project was one of the first modern, large-scale, non-destructive studies of animal mummies of all species undertaken anywhere in the world. The chapter's author's primary interest lay in studying the process of mummification when applied to animals, to see if chronological and geographical changes/particularities could be mapped, to understand the different categories of animal mummies, and to learn more about the ancient Egyptian environment. The ultimate aim of this project, after the mummies had been examined, was to conserve them, to produce a new, updated Catalogue Général volume as the original one had been rendered obsolete, as well as to reinstall the mummies in a more sympathetic museum environment.Less

The Waning Sun

Aidan Dodson

in Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation

The construction of tombs for the nobility of Akhenaten's court began soon after the Amarna was occupied, but a sheer amount of work was required in building these tombs. As a result, the tombs are ... More

The construction of tombs for the nobility of Akhenaten's court began soon after the Amarna was occupied, but a sheer amount of work was required in building these tombs. As a result, the tombs are more or less unfinished. Versions of Aten-name are found in their decoration which highlights the monuments, although the order of construction is not clear. However, two tombs, Huya and Meryre II, stand out having a specifically dated relief, which bulk their decoration after Year 12. A version of Meryre II had been carved on the right hand wall of the principal hall tomb-chapel but half of the tomb was still undecorated. The sculptor used the standard pattern in most unfinished tombs in Amarna to decorate the walls on either side of the entrance. This tomb is where Meryre II intended his mummy ultimately to lie.Less

Large-Format Stereo Conversion

Ray Zone

in 3-D Revolution: The History of Modern Stereoscopic Cinema

The process of converting a flat motion picture to 3D is explained using a specific Large Format film, Mummies 3D, as a case study. Director Keith Melton discusses the process. 3D conversion artist ... More

The process of converting a flat motion picture to 3D is explained using a specific Large Format film, Mummies 3D, as a case study. Director Keith Melton discusses the process. 3D conversion artist Tim Sassoon is interviewed.Less