Human Remains; Mummified Body

Mummified adult male purchased by Joseph Mayer in 1850 within a 25th Dynasty coffin (c. 747 – 656 BC) inscribed for a priest called Padiamunnebnesuttawy. It is not certain if the mummified remains and the coffin originally belonged together. Padiamunnebnesuttawy is a long name, typical of the time, it translates as ‘he who Amun (lord of the thrones of the two lands) gave’. As a wab-priest at Karnak he would have helped to carry the sacred statue of Amun, which was hidden in a portable shrine at festival processions. X-rayed in November 1966 (Gray and Slow, 1968 pp. 56-62) with further radiograph examination by Dr R. Loynes in.2008 (Loynes, 2015). CT scans show a middle aged (35 - 50 years) with his teeth worn away, almost to the roots with four of the back teeth missing. He suffered from abscesses and gum disease which would have been very painful for him. Radiographs of the abdomen reveal opacity, so it is possible that the body had not been eviscerated. At first glance the general condition of the linen wrappings is good. The outer linen shroud is held in place by broad retaining bandages which almost envelop the head, and which cross at the waist, pelvis and knees. However, the bandages on the underside look very different, untidy and in poor condition. It would seem the visible outer bandages are a modern arrangement to improve appearance. In 1877 Egyptologist Samuel Birch of the British Museum advised that the body did not belong with coffin M14049 and should be within M13999 (the outer coffin of Ankhesenaset). This was an error that was not corrected until 2008. For the name see Ranke, Personennamen, I, p. 122, no. 6 [pA-dj-jmn-nb-ns.wt-tw.wj].