The mummy of a woman, who may have been pregnant when she died, has both puzzled and fascinated archaeologists looking for clues to her true identity. Now, two facial approximations performed by forensic specialists at the Warsaw Mummy Project in Poland offer new insights into the appearance of this puzzling ancient Egyptian woman.

Using CT scans and X-rays, forensic specialists worked on facial reconstructions of the mummy, leading to two different interpretations of the woman’s likeness.

In both reconstructions, The dark-skinned, brown-eyed young woman is seen looking straight ahead, providing a realistic image of her lost in thought.

The mystery of the Egyptian mummy that begins to be revealed​

“Modern techniques allow us to perform a virtual autopsy of the mummy,” Wojciech Ejsmond, co-director of the Warsaw Mummy Project, said on the organization’s Facebook account in the study. “We will be able to look under the bandages and inside her body. For the first time, her face will be exposed to the general public and the whole world will be able to look at her face”.

“For many people, ancient Egyptian mummies are museum curiosities that inspire adventures in books, films and games. We sometimes forget that these were people like us, who had loved ones and whose deaths were personal tragedies.. Mummification was an expression of the care given to a person to preserve them for the afterlife,” they wrote in the Nov. 8 post.

For this reason, for Polish scientists, the Warsaw Mummies Project “intends to re-humanize mummified people by presenting their appearance in life. Two forensic specialists individually produced facial reconstructions of the pregnant mummy (also known as “the Mysterious Lady”), using 2D and 3D techniques. This woman died at the age of 20 while pregnant. It was recently discovered that he was likely to have cancer.”.

The story of the “Mysterious Lady” has fascinated researchers because her story deals with the most crucial aspects of life: birth and death. But it goes even further, to explore the fate after the death of the mother and her unborn child.

The “Mysterious Lady” exhibition.

These facial reconstructions can be seen in an exhibition that opened at the Silesian Museum in Katowice on November 3.

“Our bones, and the skull in particular, give a lot of information about an individual’s face.. Although it cannot be considered an exact portrait, the skull, like many anatomical parts, is unique and shows a set of shapes and proportions that will appear in part in the final face,” said Chantal Milani, Italian forensic anthropologist and project member.

“For the first time your probable appearance has been revealed to the general public and now everyone will be able to see your eyes. For the ancient Egyptians, as for us, the face was an integral part of one’s identity. By reconstructing their faces we are “bringing them back alive” and restoring their identity”, concluded Milani.