Meresamun exhibition at the Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago

The exhibition ‘The Life of Meresamun’ opened last week at the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago. Meresamun is believed to have been a singer priestess in 800BC at a temple in Thebes. Her remains are preserved in an unopened casket bearing an inscription of her name that was bought in Egypt in 1920 by the founder of the Oriental Institute, James Henry Breasted. In preparation for the exhibition, the casket was recently examined by CT scans to reveal its contents and over the past week, the Egyptian mummy consequently made the front pages of many newspapers.

Previous attempts to scan the contents of the casket in 1989 and 1991 were disappointing, only producing fuzzy images. The latest scans, however, revealed exceptionally clear and detailed images of the mummy, still wrapped in linen bandages. Scientists were notably able to view her remaining organs and what appear to be stones or pottery placed in her eye sockets. She was approximately five foot five inches tall and was in her late 20s or early 30s when she died. Her body showed no signs of childbearing and although her teeth were worn down, she appeared to be fit and healthy...