World's 1st Pregnant Ancient Mummy Discovered, Was 7 Months Pregnant
According to the analysis by the researchers, the woman would have been around 20 to 30 years old. Looking at the size of the child¡¯s skull, researchers suggested that the lady would have been 26 to 28 years pregnant.
Researchers in Poland while examining an ancient Egyptian mummy that was earlier believed to be a male priest was discovered to actually be of a woman who had been seven months pregnant.
Polish Academy Of Sciences
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This was the first known case of a well-preserved ancient mummy of a pregnant woman, the researchers revealed while announcing the discovery.
The Mummy was first brought to Warsaw in the year 1826 and it was in a coffin that had an inscription named a male priest. However, the previous examination hadn¡¯t really disproved the fact that this wasn¡¯t a male.
When researchers first saw it, they noticed that the mummy had no penis and instead had breasts and really long hair. However, further analysis revealed that this woman was in fact a pregnant woman.
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Marzena Ozarek-Szilke, an anthropologist and archaeologist who was one of the researchers who made this discovery, told the Associated Press that the moment they saw the little foot and hand of the unborn child, they were truly shocked.
According to the analysis by the researchers, the woman would have been around 20 to 30 years old. Looking at the size of the child¡¯s skull, researchers suggested that the lady would have been 26 to 28 years pregnant.
Polish Academy Of Sciences
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This study (published in the journal Archaeological Science) was a part of the Warsaw Mummy Project -- a study of mummies at the national museum in Warsaw. The study highlighted that this was the first known case of a pregnant embalmed body and that it opened up new possibilities of research related to pregnancy in ancient times as well as practices related to maternity.
Team member Wojciech Ejsmond said: ¡°We do not know why the foetus was not taken out of the belly of the deceased during mummification. That is why this mummy is truly unique. We have not been able to find any similar cases. This means that ¡®our¡¯ mummy is the only recognised in the world with a foetus,¡± he said.
