CT scans of the mummy of a 15-year-old, nicknamed ‘The Golden Boy’, have revealed 49 hidden amulets within his wrappings.
Many of the amulets are made of gold, including a golden tongue inside the mouth, a golden heart scarab inside the thoracic cavity, and a two-finger amulet next to his penis.
The mummy was originally discovered in Edfu in 1916, and was until recently in storage in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The body was mummified to a high standard, suggesting the boy was of high social status, and there were no signs of illness or malnutrition. He was wrapped in good-quality linen, wearing a gilded mummy mask and sandals, and covered with garlands of ferns.
Another ‘golden mummy’ to make the news was discovered at Saqqara, in one of a series of Fifth and Sixth Dynasty tombs excavated by an Egyptian team.
At the bottom of a 15-metre shaft, the team discovered a large limestone sarcophagus containing the gilded mummy of a man named Hekashepes. Although not the oldest complete mummy ever discovered, as stated in many press reports, Hekashepes is thought to be the oldest gold-covered mummy yet found. The team also uncovered the tombs of Mery, ‘Secret Keeper and Assistant to the Great Leader of the Palace’; the priest Khnumdjedef, who held the titles ‘Inspector of Officials’ and ‘Supervisor of Nobles’ and served Unas (Fifth Dynasty); and a judge and scribe who may have been called Fetek.
All of these burials were of private individuals, rather than royalty, but the officials were clearly wealthy and of high social status, and their grave goods included a number of beautifully carved statuettes.
