A 3,400-year-old Egyptian mummy held a secret beneath her linen wrappings. Scientists found a shell made of mud, sand and straw

A 3,400-year-old Egyptian mummy revealed a surprising secret in 2021, when researchers discovered a hidden shell made of mud, sand and straw beneath its linen wrappings. CT scans also uncovered signs that the woman’s body had been repaired after burial. The findings offered fresh insight into ancient Egyptian burial practices, suggesting that people outside the royal elite may have used cheaper materials to imitate the elaborate mummification methods reserved for royalty.

The discovery has challenged existing assumptions about burial practices in ancient Egypt, raising questions about how ordinary people prepared their dead for the afterlife. While royal mummies were often encased in a hard, plant-based resin shell to protect the body, researchers now believe that non-royal Egyptians may have used mud shells as a cheaper alternative to replicate the burial practices of the elite, according to media reports.

The mummy belongs to the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum. A study in PLOS ONE, published on February 3, 2021, describes how CT scans and lab analysis brought the hidden casing to light beneath the linen wrappings. Radiocarbon dating of textile samples put her remains between about 1370 and 1113 BC, with a median date near 1207 BC. An analysis of her bones suggests she was between 26 and 35 years old when she died.

Someone had tried to repair the body

Researchers believe the shell was added after the woman’s initial mummification, rather than being part of the original burial process. According to the study, it may have been applied after her body was damaged, possibly within one or two generations of her first burial.

The scientists also found evidence of disturbance around the left knee and lower leg. They suggested that tomb robbers may have caused the damage, although the exact circumstances remain unclear.

The repair used mud, sand and straw, laid between layers of linen. Fragments of the casing showed a thin mud base, a white coating based on calcite and a red-painted surface of mixed composition. Whether the whole shell was once painted red, the researchers could not tell.

According to the PLOS ONE study, this looks like more than a practical attempt to keep damaged remains together. It may also reflect what people believed the dead needed in the afterlife.

Why use mud instead of expensive resin?

Preserving the body mattered in ancient Egypt because of what came after death. The body had to stay intact enough for the person to live on in the next world.

Some royal mummies were covered in protective shells made from resin. That could be costly, particularly when large amounts of imported resin were needed.

The team of researchers proposed that the mud casing may have served two ends: repairing the damaged body and echoing a treatment tied to elite burials. Mud, sand and straw were available locally, so they could have stood in for resin.

Researchers cannot determine who carried out the repair, whether they had any personal connection to the woman or what resources were available to them.

Macquarie University’s research said that the find adds to what is known about how ancient Egyptians treated their dead and thought about the afterlife.

The coffin tells another story

The mummy had another complication: the coffin in which it was found appears not to have been made for that body.

English-Australian politician Charles Nicholson donated the mummy and coffin to the University of Sydney in 1860. The coffin bears the name Meruah, or Merutah, and dates to around 1000 BC — later than the mummy itself.

In their study, the researchers noted that antiquities dealers sometimes paired unrelated bodies and coffins to create a more complete-looking set for sale. They suggested that this may have happened here, although the precise circumstances remain unknown.

A repair that survived for thousands of years

The mummy had already attracted various scientific attention before the mud was understood. A CT scan in 1999 revealed unusual features in the wrappings, and a more detailed examination in 2017 helped researchers investigate the material hidden inside them.

The results published in 2021, show how modern material analysis and imaging can recover evidence that is difficult to see without disturbing the fragile remains.