Head of Egyptian Mummy Discovered with Remarkably Preserved Tongue

Radiologists and archaeologists from Canterbury Christ Church University have conducted a CT scan on an ancient Egyptian mummy's head that was discovered a few years ago in the attic of a house in a small English town. Its brain had been removed, and an unidentified substance had been inserted through the nose.

The 2700-year-old head of the Egyptian mummy was a gift to someone in Ramsgate, one of the coastal towns in Kent, England. It first appeared in the attic of a man who passed away in 2018. The mummy's head was uncovered by his brother, who donated the find to the Canterbury Museum.

In 2020, the head was studied using radiography, revealing that the mummy belonged to an adult female. Recently, it was examined using CT scans. It was determined that the mummy's brain had been removed during a posthumous ritual. The embalmers used hammers and levers to access the brain through the nasal bones, inserting an iron hook to slowly extract the cranial contents. They then spooned out the remains and washed the skull with water.

The radiologist-archaeologists were able to closely examine the condition of the mummy's teeth. It appears that the woman consumed coarse food throughout her life. At the same time, her tongue is remarkably preserved, highlighting the ancient embalmers' skill. Additionally, a strange tube made of an unidentified material was found in the woman's nasal cavity, likely placed there during Victorian England.