Scientists have revealed the possible cause of death for a legendary mummy whose face is frozen in a permanent “scream.” Sahar Saleem / Frontiers
Wails from The Crypt?
Scientists have revealed the possible cause of death for a legendary mummy whose face is frozen in a permanent “scream.”
Dubbed the “Screaming Woman” due to her Edvard Munch-evoking look of perpetual horror, the crypt-ic cadaver was first unearthed in 1935 near Luxor, Egypt.
“The mummy’s screaming facial expression in this study could be read as a cadaveric spasm [when muscles stiffen postmortem], implying that the woman died screaming from agony or pain,” researchers wrote in a macabre study published in the journal “Frontiers in Medicine” describing this ancient cold case file.
“The cause or true history or circumstances of the death of this woman are unknown, hence the cause of her screaming facial appearance cannot be established with certainty,” wrote study author Sahar Saleem, a radiology professor at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital at Cairo University. Sahar Saleem / Frontiers
The woman — who was reportedly of noble descent — had reportedly been interred around 3,500 years ago in the tomb of Semnut, an 18th-dynasty royal architect to Queen Hatshepsut.
However, the details regarding her burial remained a complete mystery — until now.
Using CT scans, infrared imaging and other advanced techniques, these sarcophagus sleuths were able to conduct a much-belated virtual autopsy, which revealed that the Screaming Woman was around 48 years old when she died.
This figurative unwrapping also found that she was around 5 feet tall and suffered from spinal arthritis, among other revelations.
Meanwhile, researchers floated several theories regarding the mummy’s “Ring”-esque grimace.
The mummy’s organs were intact — a rarity during the era when she was mummified. Sahar Saleem / Frontiers
One possible explanation was that the Screaming Woman experienced a cadaveric spasm — where muscles that were used extensively before death suddenly go rigid postmortem — indicating that she likely died in excruciating pain.
In other words, she could’ve literally died screaming.
A less grisly hypothesis, per the paper, was that “embalmers likely mummified the contracted body of the woman … before it decomposed or relaxed, thus preserving her opened mouth position at death.”
“It is also possible that the contracted muscles must have prevented embalmers from closing the mouth,” scientists posited.
Scientists postulated that the woman could’ve died in extreme agony. Sahar Saleem / Frontiers
Other possible causes include the decomposition process, the rate of desiccation (drying out) and the pressure of the wrappings against her face.
“The cause or true history or circumstances of the death of this woman are unknown, hence the cause of her screaming facial appearance cannot be established with certainty,” wrote study author Sahar Saleem, a radiology professor at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital at Cairo University.
Another fascinating aspect of this forensic analysis was that the mummy’s brain, diaphragm, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys and intestine were all intact. This was an outlier in an era when corpses traditionally had their organs removed during mummification.
And while the presence of viscera might ordinarily indicate shoddy workmanship, the fact that she was treated with pricey embalming agents such as juniper resin and frankincense suggests that this was not the case. This also negated the theory that the mummifiers simply neglected to close the mummy’s mouth.
In addition, the Screaming Woman was remarkably well-preserved and wore a fancy wig that was woven from date palm fibers.
This hairpiece was also stiffened with quartz, magnetite, and albite crystals and colored black to resemble real hair.
Meanwhile, the mummy’s real mane had been dyed with juniper and henna.
