Sting in the tale of Leeds mummy » Communities » 24dash.com

He survived World War II bombs which destroyed his compatriots and adopted home and has remained intact for more than 3,000 years… but in real life Leeds mummy Nesyamun was probably killed by a tiny insect.

Two other mummies and the building itself were wiped out in the 1941 bombing of Leeds’ museum- leaving the city without a permanent museum ever since- but Nesyamun escaped unscathed.

Yet as curators prepare for his face to be seen in public, they have come to the conclusion that he was perhaps more vulnerable than he appears and that a simple sting from a small bee or other insect could have caused his death.

Also going on public display is a striking reconstruction of Nesyamun’s head, which depicts him in a startling and very lifelike manner as he would have looked as a priest in Thebes 3,000 years ago.

This was produced using a 360º scan of his actual head, which was then reconstructed by renowned medical artist Richard Neave of Manchester University several years back, but has not been on show while the city waits to get its permanent new museum.

The story behind Nesyamun’s premature demise has been revealed as a major operation to relocate him to his final resting place- with the help of specialist mountain rescue equipment- gets under way today.

The ancient insect’s venom is thought to have caused an anaphylactic reaction when it stung Nesyamun, killing him rapidly.

His perfectly-preserved face is contorted in a way which is consistent with a sudden, dramatic death, with the eyes bulging and- very rare for mummies- tongue protruding.  Embalmers would always close the mouth- not do so is an indication they were unable to.

It had initially been thought, therefore, that the ancient Egyptian priest had been murdered.  However, key to the diagnosis was the fact that his hyoid bone is intact- largely ruling out the likelihood of strangulation.  It supports the tongue and is commonly crushed when pressured.

There is no way of proving the bee sting reaction theory beyond doubt, but the evidence would seem to suggest it as a strong likelihood.

Now for the first time ever Nesyamun’s face will be on public view- alongside the bust of his head which shows him as he would have looked back home in Thebes in 1100 BC.
 
His hands and feet will also be visible, with the rest of his body loosely covered by linen bandages.  His ornate coffin lids will also be in the climate-controlled case with him, which are covered in prayers for his safe passage to the afterlife written in Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Leeds City Council’s curator of archaeology, Katherine Baxter, said:
“It is possibly quite controversial to display the mummy himself at a time when other museums are debating whether it is best to cover them up.  We have thought long and hard about this and we feel we learn far more about him as a person this way.

“Our reconstructed tomb is towards the back of the gallery and is designed so that you have to make a conscious decision to go in and look at him.  I think that’s far more respectful than just putting him in a glass case- covered or otherwise- in the middle of a room.”

Cllr John Procter, the council’s executive member for Leisure, agrees.  He said: “Nesyamun is already known- on the basis of his amazing coffin cases- as being one of the finest examples of a mummy in the UK. 

This new display, which includes for the first time the mummy himself and the fascinating reconstruction of his head, will tell us far more about his life and who he was than we knew before.

“The Leeds Mummy is one of the most outstanding exhibits in our incredible new museum and we are counting the days till it opens on September 13th.”

Nesyamun was brought to the city by local banker John Blayds, who bought the mummy in 1823 for the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society.