Egyptian boy mummy was buried with a ‘second heart’ made of gold

Using X-rays, the mummy of a teenage boy about 2,300 years old has been digitally opened to reveal 49 precious protective amulets, including a gold scarab representing the heart.

To Alex Wilkins

A digital scan of an Egyptian mummy reveals a teenage boy buried with a “second heart” made of gold. It also revealed dozens of other amulets that ancient Egyptians believed were important for the afterlife.

This mummy, which has been in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo since 1916, dates to around 300 BC and belongs to the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Sahar Saleem of Cairo University used computed tomography (CT) to digitally open a small gold-covered mummy. This included using hundreds of high-resolution X-ray images to display skeletons and soft tissues, revealing 49 amulets of 21 different types.

Saleem and her team not only found a 3 cm golden scarab symbolizing the heart in the mummy’s chest cavity, but also found a golden tongue in the skull’s mouth. Left thigh and other religious amulets made of gold, semi-precious stones and brightly colored pottery.

The boy’s own heart remained a spiritual symbol in his chest, researchers say, much like an Egyptian mummy.

Amulets were supposed to have protective properties for the difficult journey to the afterlife, which the Egyptians believed would come after death. “The boy’s family provided him with a very expensive level of embalming in preparation for his underground journey to reach the afterlife safely,” Saleem says. When.

Researchers used a CT scan to 3D print a reconstruction of the golden heart. “The big, golden, heart-shaped scarab amulet is absolutely stunning, especially once you can print it out and hold it in your hand,” says Saleem. “The back of the 3D-printed amulet had inscriptions and inscriptions representing spells.”

These inscriptions appear to contain Egyptian scriptures. Book of the Deadstates that the heart scarab is necessary to silence the heart when judged by the gods on its way to the afterlife.

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