The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1890-02-22
IINROLLING A MYSTERY.
Details of an Interesting Exhibition
Methods of Embalming.

Methods of Embalming.
A large and distinguished company
Of Englishmen assembled in the botan-
zeal theater Of University College, Lon
don, on December Is, to witness the I'M
rolling of mummy from Upper Egypt.
This mummy, the London Times saws,
has for about half a century occupied
place in the college museum, but 1t IS
not known how it came into the pos
session of the authorities. 1t was at
length decided to unroll it, and T.. A.
Wallis Bulge, NJ. A., of the British
Museum, was requested to undertake
the task. The chair was taken by Nh.
Erichsen, president of the college, and
among those present were Sir John
Lubbock, VI. r, Sir A. Garrod, Prof.
Gladstone, Prof. Seeley, Prof. Ramsey,
Prof Goodwin, Prof. Carey Foster, Prof.
Hayter Lewis, Mr.. Romanes, MIR. Poyn
ter. Mr.. Alma-Tadeina, Beebohm Tree,
Rider IIaggard, Maunde Thompson, DR..
Fitch, and DR.. Qualn.
The mummy was placed on table
on the floor of the theater, and loosely
covered with a cloth OF fine linen OF
faded purple color, which had formerly
constituted It's outer wrapping. Before
proceeding to perform the operation of
unrolling the mummy, Mr.. Bulge made
some predatory observation on Egyptian
mummies generally. He described the
principal methods OF preserving the
human body by mummiiicatlOn as three
in number. The first process required
that the intestines should be extracted
and embalmed III four pots dedicated to
four gods. The body was then soaked
III natron for seventy days. At the end
of that time it was washed, and then
carefully bandaged in hundreds of
yards Of linen. BY the second process
the lntesunes were simply dissolved out
by means of natron, after which the
body was soaked in natron and then
mummiied. By the third process the
body was merely sailed and put into
pit. Sometimes bitumen was used with
other Substances to ill the witty in the
body alter the intestines had been re-
moved.
Eat the conclusion ofhi observations,
Mr.. Bulge proceeded to unroll his
mummy, which was closely sWathed in
scores OF yards of thick, yellowish linen
of fine texture. The bands of linen
varied in width from four or FIVE inches
to about foot. Some of them were laid
lengthwise along the body; others were
wrapped round and round it. At the
beginning of the process of unrolling
there was very perceptlbie slckly
smell of aromatics, which as the work
went on gave place to a more pro-
nounced and decidedly disagreeable
odor. When great part o! the linen
had been removed, black stains, caused
by the bitumen, became apparent, and
nearer to the body the wrapplngs had
suffered considerably from contact with
this substance. Two small pieces of
linen with frlngeS were discovered in
the course of the unrolling, and these
bore inscriptions more or less impaired
by the bitumen.
''When at last the coverings had
been removed the body was found to be
of a very dark brown color, so dark, in
deed, as to be almost black. The skin
where it remained was hard and shiny,
the arms and hands lay lengIhwise
upon the abdomen, while the heart and
lntestlnes were placed between the
knees. The features, when disclosed,
stood out very clearly, and were those
of a very handsome person, but the sex
could not be determined. Glass ewes
had been placed in the head, and there
was linen plug in the ear. Mr..
Bulge. at the conclusion Of his task,
said that the mummy seemed to belong
to a period about 800 years before
Christ. 1t was filled with bitumen. and
nearly all the flesh was destroyed in
consequence. Parts OF the skin re-
manned upon the breast, and the bones
were still in fairly good condition. The
intestines, instead of being put in pots,
as they usually were in the case of per-
sons of high birth, were placed beneath
the legs.
''Tne person could not have beel of
very great Importance because there
WAS neither scarabHus nor ring upon
the finger. The inclsion on the left
side was still found, and was one Of the
most interesting features III the num-
my. The person appeared to have
been called Bek-Ran or Bek-RaEef.
The only inscription decipherable was
the name of Osiris, folded over the part
of the stomach dedicated TO that god,
and a PRAYER for the heart of the de-
ceased. There was another piece OF
linen bearing the date, but the year had
been obliterated by the bitumen.
From the quality of the linen, its fine
ness of texture, and the iringes to the
inscriptions. the mummy must belong 70
the best period of Theban mummyfy-
ing, probably the nineteenth dynasty.
The inscriptions were written in the
hieratic or current hand of Egyptian
hleroglyphics. The nanny was about
feet inches in height, and was that of
an Egyptian, probably one Of the class
corresponding to the lower middle class
of modern times. The body will under
90 further examination by scientific eX-
perts.