The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-01-16
! MUMMY UNROLLED.
DETAILS OF AN INTERESTING Ex-
HIBITION IN LONDON.

| . :.
An Account Which May Instruct and
Entertain the Lovers or the Garions aud
Weird.
Alarge and distinguished company o.
GEaglishmen assembled in the botanical
theatre of University College. London,
on December fS, to witness the uuroll.
ing of a mummy from Upper Egypt.
This mummy, the London Times says.
"has for about half century occupied
a place in the college museum, but il is
not known how it came into the posscs-
sion of the authorities. 1t was at length
decided to unroll it, and Mr.. E A.. Wal
lis Bulge, M. A., of the British museum
was requested to undertake the task.
The chair was taken by Mr.. Erichsen,
president Of the college, and among
those present were Sir, John Lubbock,
NJ. p, Sir A. Garrod, Professor Glad.
stone, Professor Seeley, Professor Ram.
sey, Professor Goodwin, Professor Carey
Foster, Professor Hayter Lewis, Mr..
Romanes, Mr.. Poynter, Mr.. Almtaadc-
ma, Mr. Beerbohm Tree, Mr.. Rider Hag-
gard, MIR. Maunde Thompson, DR.. Fitch
and DR.. QIain.
'"The mummy was placed on table
on the floor Of the theatre and loosely
covered with cloth Of fine linen of
faded purple color, which had formerly
constituted its outer wrapping. Before
proceeding to perform the operation of
unrolliug the mummy, Mr. Bulge made
some PREDATORY observations one Egyp-
tisn mummies generally. lie described
the principal methods of preserving the
human body by Naturalization as three
IN number The first process REQUIRED
that the iutestines should he extracted
and embalmed in four pots dedicated 70
four gods. The body was then soaked
in natron for seventy days. At the end
OF that time it was washed, and then
carefully bandaged in hundreds of wards
of linen BY the second process tho in
testlnes were, dissolved out by meaha nf-,
natron, after which the BODY was soaked
In natron and then mummified. By tho
third process the body was merely sailed
and put into pit. Sometime 6itumen
was used with other substances to fill the
cavity in the body after the intestinea
had been removed.
'At tho conclusion of his observation.
hlr. Bulge proceeded to unroll the mum.
my, which was cloely swathed in scorca
of yards of thick. yellowish linen of fine
texture: The bands of linen varied in
width from four to five inches to about
loot, Some OF them were laid length
wise along the body; others we're wrap E:
ped round and round it, At the begin
Ming Of the process of unrolling thero
was very perceptible sickly smell Of
oromatics, which, as the work went on,~-
gave place to more pronounced and de- :,
cidedly disagreeable odor. When a
great part Of the linen had been remoy.
cd, black stains, caused by the bitumen. ~
became apparent, and nearer to the
body the wrappings had suffered con-
siderably from contact with this sub
stance. Two small pieces Of linen with r
fringes were discovered in the course of
the unrolling, and these bore inscrip-
men.
'When at last the coverings had beet
removed the body was found to be of a
very dark brown color--so dark, indeed.
as To be almost black. The skin where
it remained was hard and shiny, The
arms and hands lay lengthwise upon the
abdomen, while the heart and iptestines
were placed beneath the knees, The
features, when disclosed, stood out yery
clearly, and were those of handsome
person, but the sex could not be deter
mined. Glass eyes had been placed in
the head, and there was linen plug in
the ear. Dir. Bulge, at the conclusion
or his task, said that mummy seemed to
belong to period about 800 wears be-
fore ChIist. 1t was filled with bitumen N
and nearly all the flesh was DESTROYED in
consequence. Parts of the skin remain
ed upon the breast, and the bones were
still In fairly good condition. The in
testines, in lead of being put In pots. as
they usually were in case of persons of
high birth, were placed beneath the
legs. - -.
1.-The person could not have been o,
very geeat Importance, because ther.
neither scarab@ns nor ring upon the
ger: The lncision on the left side
still found, and was one of the mfF
tercsting features in the mummE
person appeared to have bee&
Bek-Rau or Bek-Ranef. Thea -
scription decipherable was tho
Osiris, folded over the part r:
ach dedicated to that god,
for the heart of the decs}
was another piece of linen
date, but the year had been
The bitumen. From the quau ~
linen lts-f -fneneas4 of texture >
fringes to the i6scfiiPt PtSns, the mummy
must belong TO the best, period of The,
ban mummifying, possibly the nine
teenth dynasty. The ipscr .ptiops were
written 10 the hicratic or current hand
OF Egyptian hieroglyphics. The mum
my was about feet and B inches in
height, aud was that Of an Egyptian,
probably one of the class corresponding
to the lower middle class of modern
times The body will undergo further
examination by scientific experts"