Gebelein predynastic mummies

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The Gebelein predynastic mummies are six naturally preserved bodies dating to about 3400 BC, from the Late Predynastic period of Ancient Egypt. They were the first complete predynastic bodies found. The mummies were buried in shallow sand graves near Gebelein (now Naga el-Gherira) in the Egyptian desert and were preserved by the hot, dry sand without artificial mummification. British archaeologist Wallis Budge excavated them at the end of the 19th century, and the six bodies were given to the British Museum in 1900.

All six bodies were found in a fetal position, lying on their left sides. Some were wrapped in reed mats, others in palm fibre or animal skin. Two of the individuals are known to be male, one female, and the sexes of the remaining three are not clearly known. The first body excavated, EA 32751, nicknamed “Ginger” because of its red hair, has been on display in the British Museum since 1901 in a reconstructed sand grave. Because of modern ethical guidelines, the nickname is no longer used. The female body, EA 32752, has also been exhibited in various travels and displays over the years.

Grave goods were limited. A pot was found with the female body; some other items (such as wicker, fur, and linen fragments) were noted but did not stay with the bodies in the museum. The bodies show typical predynastic burials, where the body is often surrounded by minimal wrapping and left to dry naturally in the sand. This natural mummification helped early Egyptians form ideas about an afterlife.

Dating places the remains in Naqada II, around 3400 BC (Calibrated date about 3341–3017 BC). In 2012, a computed tomography (CT) scan of Gebelein Man (EA 32751) suggested he was about 18–20 years old at death and fairly well-muscled. The scan also found a puncture under his left shoulder blade, likely from a copper blade or a flint knife about 12 cm long, suggesting he may have been killed rather than dying in normal circumstances.

Today the Gebelein mummies are part of the British Museum’s Egyptian collections. They illustrate how people in predynastic Egypt were buried and preserved before the development of artificial mummification, and they offer early clues about beliefs surrounding death and the afterlife.