317a and 317b mummies

Mummies 317a and 317b were the infant daughters of the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Tutankhamun; their mother was likely his Great Royal Wife Ankhesenamun, who has been tentatively identified as the mummy KV21A.[1] They were buried in their father's tomb, which was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. The coffin inscriptions call them only 'the Osiris' so they are known instead by the numbers assigned by Carter during his excavation.[2] The mummy referred to as 317a is of a girl who was born prematurely at 5–6 months' gestation, and mummy 317b is that of a girl born at or near full term. No cause of death could be determined for either child.[1]

317a (left) and 317b (right) shortly after their unwrapping

Discovery and description

The mummies were interred within Tutankhamun's tomb in a room known as the treasury. The coffins were found in an open wooden box atop a stack of similar boxes in the north-eastern corner of the chamber. Next to them sat a miniature coffin set containing a lock of hair belonging to Tiye, Tutankhamun's grandmother. The box's lid was once tied and sealed but had been removed by robbers in antiquity. The two coffins were placed side by side, head to toe; chips had been taken off the toe of the larger coffin (317b) in order to close the lid.[2]

Each mummy was contained within two sets of mummiform wooden coffins, the designs of which imitate those used by nobility and private individuals.[3] The outer coffins have a black-based design ornamented by gilded. The deceased is depicted as a mummy wearing a blue and gold striped wig, and a broad collar with falcon-headed terminals. The arms are crossed and the hands are fisted but hold no emblems. A vulture spreads its wings over the abdomen and gilded vertical and horizontal bands of inscription invoke the deities of the deceased. The goddesses Nephthys and Isis (with two djed-pillars) are depicted kneeling at on the top of the head and base of the feet respectively. The rest of the surface is filled with black resin.[4] The inner coffins have a similar design but are entirely covered in gold foil. The hieroglyphic inscriptions on both sets of coffins refer "only to a nameless "Osiris" (i.e. the deceased)."[3] Bands of linen at the throat, middle, and ankles sealed the outer coffins; each was secured with mud seals stamped with the necropolis seal of a jackal over nine captives.[3] The lid of each outer coffin was attached to the trough by eight tenons.[2]

317a

Carter unwrapped this mummy in 1925.[1] The head was covered by a gilded death mask that was "several sizes too large."[3] The linen wrappings were secured by five transverse bands and two triple longitudinal bands over the front, back and sides. The wrappings were 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in) thick and noted to be in poor condition, with pads over the chest, legs and feet to provide shape.[5] During the 1932 autopsy by anatomist Douglas Derry, the mummy was measured to be 25.75 centimetres (10.14 in) long. He concluded the mummy was likely female and estimated the age to be no more than five months' gestation. The skin was noted as being "of a greyish colour, very shrunken and brittle," with the bones of the chest and hands clearly visible. The body was positioned with the legs straight and the hands placed on the front of the thighs. There was no sign of the typical abdominal incision used to remove the organs. The mummy lacked eyebrows and eyelashes, presumably due to its early gestational age, but light-coloured silky hairs (lanugo) were present on the head. The eyelids were slightly open as a result of shrinkage during the mummification process as the eyelids are fused at this gestation. The remains of the umbilical cord was preserved to a length of 21 millimetres (0.83 in).[6]

CT scanning was conducted as part of the Egyptian Mummy Project in July 2008. The mummy was found to be in very poor condition, which meant Derry's determination of the sex could not be confirmed. A gestational age of 24.7 weeks (5–6 months) was estimated from the length of the humerus. The skull was found to be filled with high- and low-density material which may represent brain tissue or embalming material. The torso was also filled with high- and low-density contents which are likely embalming packs. No deformities were noted, nor could cause of death be determined.[1]

317b

This mummy lacked a mask, although its intended mask is likely the one found earlier in Tutankhamun's embalming cache, KV54.[7] The length of the wrapped mummy was 39.5 centimetres (15.6 in) and the length of the body itself was 36.1 centimetres (14.2 in). The manner of wrapping was very similar to the smaller mummy—two triple longitudinal bands and four transverse bands around the head, neck, abdomen and ankles—on top of a shroud. Below the shroud were eleven further layers of pads and bandaging on the feet, legs, abdomen and chest to provide the correct shape.[5] The mummy was noted as not being as well preserved as the smaller mummy, 317a. It was found to also be female and estimated to be seven months' gestation. The skin was the same greyish colour and brittle condition as the younger mummy. Fine hair remained on the back of the head (the rest having come away with the bandages), and eyelashes and eyebrows were present. The eyes were wide open, containing only the shrunken eyeballs. The interior of the skull was examined through the open fontanelle and found to be filled with linen, inserted through the right nostril. The legs were extended and the hands were placed palm down beside the thighs. She likely died at or shortly after birth, as although the umbilical cord is not preserved, the navel was not retracted, indicating that the cord was cut off rather than drying off naturally. An small embalming incision 18 millimetres (0.71 in) long was made parallel to the inguinal ligament to remove the organs.[6][2] The body cavity was stuffed with linen and the cut was sealed with animal fat.[5]

The mummy was next examined in 1978 using x-rays and was found to have been damaged over the intervening years, with the skull crushed and ribs broken. The age was estimated to be thirty five weeks' gestation to full term, and she was diagnosed with Sprengel's deformity, spina bifida, and scoliosis. Serological analysis was conducted and determined that this mummy had an O blood group.[8] A later re-examination of the x-rays suggested that the child may have been as young as 31 weeks based on the degree of ossification.[9]

It has also been suggested that the two were twins who had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, resulting in one twin who was large for its gestational age and one who was much smaller.[10][11] This possibility is considered remote.[1][12]

CT scanning was also conducted on this mummy in July 2008 as part of the Egyptian Mummy Project. It was found to be better preserved than 317a and so could be examined more thoroughly. The mummy was confirmed to be female based on the external genitalia and the sub-pubic angle; the age at death was estimated at 36.78 weeks gestation. The diagnosis of Sprengel's deformity was rejected as, although the left scapula is 6 millimetres (0.24 in) higher than the right, this is due to the left scapula and clavicle being entirely separated from the body and rotating upwards. Both scapulae and clavicles were of normal and comparable dimensions. The spine was found to be in poor condition and fractured postmortem with fragments missing; this gave the appearance of a spine with neural tube defects but no anomalies were found.[1] The scoliosis was determined to be postural. Evidence of subcutaneous padding, used to restore a life-like appearance, was found in the legs; this has resulted in the left thigh being larger than the right.[1]

Parentage

DNA analysis was conducted as part of the Tutankhamun Family Project and although only partial matches were obtained, it was enough to conclude that both mummies were the children of Tutankhamun. Only a partial DNA profile was obtained from the KV21A mummy but it suggests that she was the mother of the two children. However, the results were not statistically significant enough to be confirmed.[13]

See also

References
  1. Hawass, Zahi; Saleem, Sahar N. (2011-11-01). "Mummified Daughters of King Tutankhamun: Archeologic and CT Studies". American Journal of Roentgenology. 197 (5): W829–W836. doi:10.2214/AJR.11.6837. ISSN 0361-803X. PMID 22021529.
  2. Reeves, Nicholas (1990). The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, The Tomb, The Royal Treasure (Paperback ed.). London: Thames and Hudson. pp. 123–124. ISBN 0-500-27810-5.
  3. Carter, Howard (2000). The Tomb of Tut.ankh.amen: The Annexe and Treasury. London: Duckworth. pp. 88–89. ISBN 0-7156-2964-6.
  4. Carter, Howard. "Griffith Institute: Carter Archives - 317a(1)". www.griffith.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  5. Leek, F. Filce (1972). The Human Remains From The Tomb Of Tutankhamun. Oxford: Griffith Insitute. pp. 21–23.
  6. Carter, Howard; Derry, Douglas E. (2000). "Appendix I: Report Upon The Two Human Foetuses Discovered In The Tomb of Tut.Ankh.Amen". The Tomb of Tut.ankh.amen: The Annexe and Treasury. London: Duckworth. pp. 167–169. ISBN 0-7156-2964-6.
  7. Reeves, C. Nicholas (1983). "On The Miniature Mask from Tut'ankhamun's Embalming Cache" (PDF). Bulletin de la Société d'Égyptologie Genève. 8: 81–83. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  8. Harrison, R. G.; Connolly, R. C.; Ahmed, Soheir; Abdalla, A. B.; El Ghawaby, M. (1979). "A mummified foetus from the tomb of Tutankhamun". Antiquity. 53 (207): 19–21. doi:10.1017/S0003598X0004196X. S2CID 163149586.
  9. Hellier, C.A.; Connolly, R.C. (2009). "A re-assessment of the larger fetus found in Tutankhamen's tomb". Antiquity. 83 (319): 165–173. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00098161.
  10. Chamberlain, Geoffrey (2001). "Two babies that could have changed the world". Historian (77): 6–10.
  11. Charlier, Philippe; Khung-Savatovsky, Suonavy; Huynh-Charlier, Isabelle (June 2012). "Forensic and Pathology Remarks Concerning the Mummified Fetuses of King Tutankhamun". American Journal of Roentgenology. 198 (6): W629–W629. doi:10.2214/AJR.11.8196.
  12. Hawass, Zahi; Saleem, Sahar N. (June 2012). "Reply". American Journal of Roentgenology. 198 (6): W630. doi:10.2214/AJR.11.8315. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  13. Hawass, Z.; Gad, Y. Z.; Ismail, S.; Khairat, R.; Fathalla, D.; Hasan, N.; Ahmed, A.; Elleithy, H.; Ball, M.; Gaballah, F.; Wasef, S.; Fateen, M.; Amer, H.; Gostner, P.; Selim, A.; Zink, A.; Pusch, C. M. (2010). "Ancestry and pathology in King Tutankhamun's family". JAMA. 303 (7): 638–47. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.121. PMID 20159872. Retrieved 12 December 2019.


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