For the first time in 3,500 years, the anguished face of an Egyptian mummy, who died in apparent agony, has been revealed through a painstaking reconstruction by experts. This mummy, known as “The Screaming Woman,” was discovered in 1935 in Deir Elbahari, Egypt, within the family tomb of a royal architect.
Reconstructing a mysterious past
Brazilian graphics expert Cicero Moraes led the effort to reconstruct the mummy’s face, employing advanced techniques to create various versions of her likeness. Using CT scan data from living individuals and tracing facial structures like the nose and lateral face in profile, Moraes produced remarkable images of the mummy’s face.
The reconstructions include a greyscale image with closed eyes to avoid speculation about her skin and eye color, a more subjective colored version showing how she might have appeared in life, complete with the wig she was buried in, and a terrifying depiction of her scream, capturing her expression of agony.
The Science behind the scream
Sahar Saleem, a researcher from Cairo University, revealed that the mummy’s scream was a result of cadaveric spasm — a rare muscular stiffening caused by violent death under extreme stress. “This mummified screaming woman is a true ‘time capsule’ of the way that she died, revealing some of the secrets of mummifications,” Saleem explained.
While the exact cause of her painful death remains unclear, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) on her remains revealed she was buried with costly juniper and frankincense, imported from the Eastern Mediterranean and Southern Arabia. The presence of a wig made of date palm fibers, treated with quartz, magnetite, and albite crystals, suggested her wealth and social status.
Despite her wealth, the identity of “The Screaming Woman” remains a mystery. She was interred in the family tomb of Senmut, a royal architect believed to be a lover of the great Pharaoh Hatshepsut. Dr. Saleem noted, “Senmut was a very powerful statesman at the time of Hatshepsut and the teacher of her daughter, Princess Nefrure.”
The family burial also included Senmut’s mother, Hat Nufer, and his father, Ra Mose. Although the screaming mummy’s name was not recorded, her shared resting place with Senmut’s parents suggests she was a close family member.
Medical insights and final resting place
Based on the joint between her two pelvic bones, scientists estimate that the woman was roughly 48 years old at the time of her death. Medical examinations, including CT scans, electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis, found that she suffered from mild arthritis of the spine and had several missing teeth, likely lost before death.
The remains of “The Screaming Woman” are now housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, while her coffin and rings are kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which excavated her tomb in 1935.
Cicero Moraes shared his motivation behind the reconstruction, stating, “I decided to do my part by putting a face to the discovery.” His study has been published in the journal OrtogOnLineMag, while Dr. Saleem and Dr. El-Merghani’s research found a place in the journal Frontiers In Medicine.
This reconstruction not only brings to life the face of a woman from over three millennia ago but also provides a poignant glimpse into the life—and death—of an individual whose story was nearly lost to history.