Front and right side photographs of the “Screaming Woman” mummy taken in 1939 at the Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine in Cairo.
Saleem and El-Merghani
hide caption
convert caption
Saleem and El-Merghani
For nearly a century, the mummy of the “Screaming Woman” found in Luxor, Egypt, has haunted viewers with its gaping facial expression. Now, new evidence from researchers in Egypt reveals even more heartbreaking details.
On Friday, Cairo University radiologist Dr. Sahar Saleem and anthropologist Samia El-Merghan reported that the woman may have “died screaming in pain.” The evidence was found through open digital package — using CT scans and other tools. The study was published Friday in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.
The woman’s facial expression may have been due to a corpus callosum spasm, which occurs during “intense physical or emotional activity,” the researchers added.
They also estimated that the woman died at age 48 and was about 5 feet 1 inch tall.
These findings are not conclusive, and the study emphasizes that a mummy’s appearance can be influenced by many factors, from burial procedures to post-mortem changes.
But this seems more plausible than the theory that the embalmers simply forgot to wrap her mouth properly – which could explain why other ancient Egyptian mummies have open mouths.
But researchers found no evidence that the woman had undergone poor embalming.
“The funeral techniques used by the embalmers on the CIT8 mummy, including the use of wigs, rings, expensive imported embalming materials and placing the mummy in a wooden coffin, [indicated] “Good embalming quality,” they wrote.
The cause of the mummy’s death remains unknown. The “Screaming Woman” was discovered around 1935 and 1936 near the tomb of Senmut in Luxor and was later kept in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. According to research, she is believed to be his relative.
Senmut was an architect during the reign of ancient Egypt’s most powerful female leader, Queen Hatshepsut. Senmut’s final years remain a mystery.
