Scientists believe the fetus inside the mummy from Ancient Egypt was "pickled like an egg."

Although some specialists say the mummy was pregnant, others are not so sure.

 

Researchers have concluded that a fetus was "pickled like an egg" inside a pregnant mummy from ancient Egypt because the mother's uterus became more acidic over time.

 

Some experts in the field, though, remain skeptical. An expert has expressed doubt about the new discoveries, telling Live Science that the mummy may not have been pregnant after all. However, if the finding is confirmed, it could alter how mummies are studied in the future and lead to the identification of other pregnant mummies.

 

According to a story from Live Science, in April 2021, scientists working on the Warsaw Mummy Project in Poland published a paper revealing the discovery of the first known pregnant mummy, whom they dubbed the Mysterious Lady. The mummy was initially considered to be the remains of a male Egyptian priest. However, X-ray and CT scans of the mummies showed that the remains belonged to a girl. The scans also revealed that a structure in the mummy's abdomen was thought to be a fetus; its gestational age was estimated to be between 28 and 32 weeks.

 

The latest research, conducted by the same group that found the Mysterious Lady, sought to explain the absence of skeletal bones and a distinct body shape in the fetus. The Polish group hypothesized that the mummification process turned the mother's uterus acidic and that this acidity slowly destroyed the fetus's bones, leaving behind the malformed lump of mineralized tissue visible in the mummy scans.

 

The researchers compared the method by which the fetus was killed to the method by which an egg might be pickled. "It's not the most attractive comparison, but it conveys the point," the group said in a blog post.

 

The egg was pickled with vinegar.

 

The novel theory put forward by the Polish group is predicated on the observation that the pH of a decomposing human body decreases. The lack of oxygen in the body causes the production of acidic substances like formic acid. The researchers wrote that the pH of blood in corpses, including uterine fluid, drops dramatically, becoming more acidic.

 

According to the study's authors, natron, a naturally occurring salt packed in and around the corpse during mummification, produces a barrier that traps the acid inside certain locations, such as the uterus, making the acidification process more severe in mummies. The researchers concluded that "the ultimate outcome is a nearly hermetically sealed uterus holding the fetus."

 

The mummy's uterus probably wasn't acidic enough to disintegrate human bones in their last stages of development. Because "mineralization [of bones] is very poor during the first two trimesters of pregnancy and increases later," the researchers noted, they may have dissolved baby bones. On the other hand, the fetus's other soft tissues would have survived relatively unscathed.

 

The researchers stated that one should think of boiling an egg in a saucepan of acid. To quote one scientist: "The eggshell is dissolving, leaving only the inside of the egg and the minerals from the eggshell dissolved in the acid." This is not how pickled eggs are typically created (the egg is usually fried and de-shelled before being pickled in acid), but it does show what could have happened to the fetus's bones.

 

The researchers hypothesize that the odd mineralization pattern results from minerals leached from dissolving bones being deposited into the soft tissue of the baby, which would have distorted without any skeletal framework.

 

An argument that has been met with controversy.

 

This study was published after the research team received feedback on their initial 2021 publication describing the finding of the Mysterious Lady, which included some constructive comments. Sahar Saleem, Egyptologist and professor of radiology at Cairo University was the study's most vocal detractor. Due to the lack of tangible evidence, such as bones, Saleem doubted the veracity of the fetus. Yet Saleem is still not convinced, casting doubt on whether or not the mummy was pregnant, despite the latest research.

 

According to Saleem's interview with Live Science, "the Polish team in its answer failed to address my concerns or give any proof of anatomical structures to validate their claim of a pregnancy." She is skeptical of the pickling theory since it merely explains the lack of physical evidence of the fetus without providing any additional evidence that the structure in question is, in fact, a fetus.

 

Also, the new report doesn't shed any light on the mystery of why the uterus and supposed fetus were still inside the body in the first place. Saleem remarked that such an occurrence was highly unusual in ancient Egypt because such bodily parts were often removed before mummification. She also noted that the rest of the mummy's body, especially its bones, would not have been so well preserved if the body had gotten acidic enough to start dissolving the fetus's bones.

 

Instead, Saleem hypothesized that the mineralized object inside the mummy's abdomen was an embalming pack, commonly placed there after dissecting the body. She said this explanation makes more sense than the pickling theory proposed by the Polish experts.

 

According to Ejsmond Wojciech, the co-director of the Warsaw Mummy Project and lead author, Professor Saleem's response to the new study was "most welcome." "When preparing our original publication, we counted on a scientific discussion in academic journals," Wojciech said, according to Live Science. He also stressed the need to receive feedback from other scientists.

 

The researchers said they are "divided" about Saleem's ongoing criticism of their latest publication. Wojciech said that radiologists like Saleem only search for bones and refuse to consider alternative causes. The scientific community has generally welcomed his team's findings since "what we discovered is something entirely fresh and unparalleled," he said.

 

This leads us to the next step.

 

The researchers behind the Warsaw Mummy Project hope that more research will convince skeptics like Saleem that their assertions are valid. To quote Wojciech:

 

The team is still certain that its interpretation of the mummy's pregnancy and the subsequent loss of the fetus is correct. Furthermore, they believe that if additional female mummies were reexamined, it is likely that some of those mummies would also have been pregnant.

 

There is "a very high probability" that other museum collections "may also contain mummies of pregnant women," the researchers wrote. The discovery of another mummified pregnant woman is inevitable.

Reference : https://www.livescience.com/mummy-fetus-pickled-like-egg

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# According to researchers, the fetus inside an Egyptian mummy was "pickled like an egg."

# Researchers say that the fetal body inside the Egyptian mummy was "pickled like an egg."