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An ancient Egyptian coffin , previously think to be empty , holds the mummified cadaver of an Egyptian priestess who lived 2,500 years ago .
The University of Sydney in Australia acquired the sarcophagus more than 150 years ago , but it sit untouched in the university’sNicholson Museumuntil later 2017 , when researchers removed the casket ’s palpebra .
Mer-Neith-it-es gets a CT scan
As soon as they face inside , they were direct aback by the ragged remains of a mummy . [ In photograph : Oldest Images of a Pharaoh ]
" The phonograph recording previously said the casket was empty or [ filled ] with junk , " Jamie Fraser , the steer investigator and senior curator at the museum , told Deutsche Welle(DW ) , a German news electric outlet . " There is a lot more to it than previously think . "
An analysis of the newfound mummy let on that it is the clay of a mortal who exit at about about 30 year of age , the researchers enounce . accord to hieroglyphs on the casket ’s side , the person was a priestess named Mer - Neith - it - es who lived in about 600 B.C.
The coffin held mummified remains.
" We know from the hieroglyphs that Mer - Neith - it - es work in the Temple of Sekhmet , the king of beasts - head goddess , " Fraser order DW . However , the ancient Egyptians sometimes reused coffin , so it ’s potential that the mummy is n’t that of the priestess but rather an interloper , the researchers say .
To see mummy , the researchers scanned the clay with a figure imaging automobile , which take thousands of cristal - rays that can then be pieced together into a digital 3D epitome . These scans usher that the mummy stop several osseous tissue , bandages , resin shard and upward of 7,000 glass beads that were sewn onto a funeral shawl , DW reported .
In exceptional , the researcher noticed that rosin had been poured into the mummy ’s skull after the brain was removed , Egyptologist Connie Lordtold the Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC ) .
The CT scan revealed the contents within the coffin.
However , sober robber apparently get hold of Mer - Neith - it - es before the Australian researchers did , as her trunk was hard brainsick . Even so , a study of her clay can inform scientist about the diet and disease that affectedancient Egyptians , Fraser say .
Charles Nicholson , the university ’s former prime minister , acquire the Egyptian coffin — as well as three others that contained ancient mummies — in 1860 . All four coffin will be put on presentation at the Nicholson Museum next to a presentation about inquiry on the fresh uncovered mammy , concord to the ABC .
Original article onLive scientific discipline .
A still shot from the CT scan showing the mummy’s toes
