THE mummified remains of a teenager found 107 years ago have long remained a mystery – until now. Scientists have “digitally unwrapped” the mummy, revealing a treasure trove of information about his life, including his age, height and background.
In the past, researchers risked damaging and disturbing mummies by physically unwrapping them, but radiologists at Cairo University in Egypt were able to peek inside the mummified boy without lifting a single bandage, through the use of CT scans (see box).
How old is the mummy?
The mummy was discovered in 1916 in a burial ground in Nag el-Hassay, Egypt, which was in use between 332 and 30BC.
That means the mummy is about 2 300 years old. By examining the growth of his bones, experts were able to determine that he was 1,28m tall. Further analysis revealed his wisdom teeth hadn’t yet emerged, which means he
