Researchers provide fresh information on the life and death of the screaming Egyptian mummy.

Sahar Saleem

The majority of Egyptian mummies that have been discovered have closed mouths. A new study suggests an ancient Egyptian woman whose mummified remains were discovered in the 1930s may have died violently.

 (CNN) — With her mouth wide open, locked for eternity in what appears to be a scream, an ancient Egyptian woman captured the imagination of archaeologists who discovered her mummified remains in 1935 in a tomb near Luxor.

Still fascinated by the “screaming woman” who died some 3,500 years ago, a different team of scientists recently used CT scans to reveal details about the mummy’s morphology, health conditions and preservation and employed infrared imaging and other advanced techniques to “virtually dissect” the remains and understand what might have caused her striking facial expression


Based on a study of a pelvis joint that varies with age, their findings—which were published on Friday in the journal Frontiers in Medicine—showed that the woman was 48 years old when she passed away. A few peculiarities emerged from the mummification procedure.

According to a statement from research author Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital at Cairo University, her body was embalmed using frankincense and juniper resin, ostentatious, pricey materials that would have been trafficked from abroad.

In line with the assessment made during the initial discovery that the brain, diaphragm, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, and intestines were still present, Saleem also discovered that there were no incisions on the body.


According to the study, the removal of internal organs was not common practice during that era of mummification, as all other organs were removed except the heart.

The study was unable to pinpoint the precise cause of death, though.

Sale the precise cause of death, saying, "Here we show that she was embalmed with costly, imported embalming material."

"This defies the conventional wisdom that suggests inadequate mummification because her internal organs were not removed, as well as the mummy's exceptionally well-preserved appearance.”

Rogers Fund, Metropolitan Museum of Art

The coffin of the "screaming" mummy is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Only a few ancient Egyptian mummies have been found with their mouths open, the study noted, with embalmers typically wrapping the jawbone and the skull to keep the deceased’s mouth shut.

What caused the woman’s chilling expression isn’t clear from the study findings, although the researchers put forward a grisly hypothesis.

What mummification techniques reveal


Saleem claimed that the mummy's exceptional preservation, the expensive and rare embalming material, and other funerary practices like the application of rings to the body and a wig fashioned from a date palm appeared to rule out a negligent mummification procedure in which the embalmers failed to seal the woman's mouth.

The woman may have died screaming from pain or suffering if the mummy's "screaming facial expression" is understood as a cadaveric spasm, an uncommon type of muscle stiffness linked to violent deaths, the study suggests.

The authors of the study hypothesized that she may have been mummified within 18 to 36 hours of passing away in order to preserve her open mouth position until her body relaxed or broke down.

Several other factors, including the decomposition process, the rate of desiccation, or drying out, and the compressive force of the wrappings, could all affect a mummy’s facial expression.

“Burial procedures or post-mortem alterations might have contributed to the phenomena of mummies with screaming appearances,” the authors noted in the study.

“The cause or true history or circumstances of the death of this woman are unknown, hence the cause of her screaming facial appearance cannot be established with certainty,” Saleem said via email.

Sahar Saleem

CT scans, including of the teeth (left) and brain, have revealed new details about the mummy's morphology, health conditions and preservation.


Open-mouthed mummies


The “screaming woman” had been buried beneath the tomb of Senmut, an architect of the temple of Egyptian queen Hatschepsut (1479–1458 BC) who held important positions during her reign. It’s thought the woman was related to Senmut, according to the study.

The discovery of her remains occurred during an expedition led by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and her coffin is on display there today. Her mummified body is stored at the Cairo Egyptian Museum.

Saleem said she had previously studied two other open-mouthed mummies from ancient Egypt.

One, a mummy thought to be the remains of a prince known as Pentawere, had his throat slit for his role in assassinating his father, Ramesses III (1185-1153 BC). His body was barely embalmed, indicating a lack of care in the mummification process, Saleem said in the news release.

The second mummy was a woman known as Princess Meritamun, who died of a heart attack, and Saleem’s analysis suggested her wide mouth was due to a postmortem contraction or movement of her jaw.

Randall Thompson, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine, who has studied ancient mummies using CT scans to learn about the origins of cardiovascular disease, called the study helpful and detailed. He said the authors’ preferred explanation for the mummy’s open mouth “made sense.”

“Their investigation helps us to understand what substances were available in ancient times and how our ancestors used them,” said Thompson, who was not involved in the study.

“More broadly, we can learn much about health and disease from the study of ancient mummies,” he added.

“For example, we have learned that heart disease is not new, as many people used to believe. It is literally older than Moses.”


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