Scientists reconstructed the face of the ancient Egyptian "screaming mummy": woman died in agony 3500 years ago

Scientists have reconstructed the face of one of Egypt's most famous and mysterious mummies, the "screaming woman." A recent study proved that the Egyptian woman died screaming in agony 3,500 years ago – before her body was embalmed with her mouth wide open.

The mysterious ancient Egyptian mummy was found in 1935 in Deir Elbahar, Egypt, in the family tomb of the royal architect Senmut. Thanks to modern equipment, scientists were able to see the real face of the mysterious woman, writes DailyMail.

The author of the reconstruction, Brazilian graphic expert Cicero Moraes, said that behind the frightening mummy with an open mouth was actually a "pleasant face." The reconstruction was created by combining several approaches.

"I used a technique that combines elements of traditional schools of facial reconstruction with new approaches based on CT scans of living people. These projections allow us to identify the spatial boundaries of structures such as the ear, eyes, nose, mouth, etc. In addition, some structures can also be traced in profile, such as the nose and the side of the face," said Cicero Moraes.

The scientist also emphasized that the data is complemented by the anatomical deformation technique when the head of a virtual digital donor is adjusted to the skull that needs to be approximated.

"As a rule, all the data are compatible, with minor differences, so the final face is an interpolation of all the information," the expert added.

Mr. Moraes created different versions of the face. One is with closed eyes and in grayscale to avoid making judgments about skin tone or eye color. The second one is more subjective, showing the woman as she might have looked in life, colored and wearing the wig she was buried in. And the third is with her mouth open to show how she might have looked when she was first buried.

Cicero Moraes suggests that his choice of skin tone may cause controversy.

"The question of the skin color of the ancient Egyptian is a source of much controversy, where the discussion shifts from the scientific to the cultural and political. To avoid these problems, I sought an approach based on publications on the subject and data collected through research of local groups and ancient Egyptian art," the reenactor explained.

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