Teenage boy’s mummified remains found with 49 amulets, golden mask for afterlife journey.
The Golden Boy of Egypt is a mummy discovered in 1916 at Nag el-Hassay cemetery, located in southern Egypt. The remains were moved to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and remained unexamined until recent years. Computerized tomography scans were used to virtually unwrap the mummified remains, revealing the body was adorned with 49 protective amulets and a golden mask.
The mummy was thought to be between 14 and 15 years old and was 4.2 feet tall with an oval face and small nose. His organs had been removed, with the exception of his heart, and his brain replaced with resin. He was also wearing sandals and a protective covering called a cartonnage across his torso.
The 49 amulets on and inside the body had 21 different designs. These included a golden tongue placed inside the mouth, a golden heart scarab in the chest, the Eye of Horus, the scarab, the akhet amulet of the horizon, the placenta, and the Knot of Isis. Many were made of gold, while some were made of semiprecious stones, fired clay, or faience.
The ancient Egyptians believed that another life awaited after death, but reaching the afterlife required a dangerous journey through the underworld. The amulets were placed on the body to protect it and give it vitality in the afterlife. The golden tongue amulet was meant to help the boy speak in the afterlife, while the Isis Knot amulet signified that the goddess Isis would protect his body. The two-finger amulet was shaped like the index and middle fingers of the right hand and was placed in his lower torso to protect his embalming incision.
The golden boy has been moved to the main exhibition hall of the Egyptian Museum and will be surrounded by CT images and a 3D-printed copy of the heart scarab to provide more insight into the mummification process, and the death rites of ancient Egyptians. This display aims to humanize the individual from the past and teach modern people about life in ancient times.
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