Researchers discover new insights into ancient screaming mummy.

Here lies a tale from millennia past, a woman unknown, her story untold. Until now.

The 'Screaming Woman': An Ancient Mystery

• In 1935, an expedition led by the Metropolitan Museum of New York uncovered a mummy with a jaw locked in an eternal scream.
• Dubbed the "Screaming Woman", she was found in the tomb of Senmut, an 18th Dynasty architect in Deir Elbahari, Egypt.
• Buried 2,500 years ago, the woman wore a black wig and sported gold and silver scarab rings.
• Her organs, including her brain, were surprisingly intact, leading to initial assumptions of poor embalming.

A Twisted Mystery Gets More Sinister

• In 2023, Radiologist Sahar Saleem and anthropologist Samia El-Merghani publish CT scan results that challenge the original theory: 1
• Their findings, published in Frontiers in Medicine, reveal the use of expensive, imported embalming agents and a meticulously prepared body: 2
• Her hair, both wig and natural tresses, was treated with juniper, henna, and crystals, indicating a spectacle, not sloppy work. 2

A Scream Frozen in Time

• Saleem and El-Merghani's study offers a morbid interpretation: the "screaming facial expression" could be a result of cadaveric spasm: 1
• Cadaveric spasm, a rare phenomenon, occurs in deaths with prolonged muscular tension, potentially explaining her locked jaw.
• Though controversial, Saleem suggests the Screaming Woman's expression may be a macabre remnant of a painful death, muscles locked before decomposition. 1

A Tale Retold

The Screaming Woman's true story remains a mystery: an ancient Egyptian, well-embalm'd, yet with a haunting expression. Did she scream in agony, or is this a silent protest against the sands of time? A true time capsule, forever etched in history.

References:

1. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1052837
2. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1406225/full