Warsaw, Poland – Scientists who discovered the first pregnant Egyptian mummy have now understood how her unborn child was so well preserved after thousands of years. Researchers from the University of Warsaw claim that a strange process took place during the mummification of the mother that essentially “pickled” the fetus – keeping its shape intact.
The mother of the fetus – called the “Mystery Lady” – is the first recorded case of an Egyptian woman who was mummified while still carrying a child. Researchers believe the woman was between 20 and 30 years old at the time of her death. The unborn child was around 26 to 30 weeks in its development.
After publication their first discoveries on the mummy in April 2021, the team is now revealing more about how the child’s body was able to survive the ancient mummification process. It is still a mystery, however, as to why the The Ancient Egyptians left the child inside the mother while removing her other organs.
“The fetus remained in the uterus intact and began to, say, ‘pickle’. It’s not the most aesthetic comparison, but it conveys the idea,” Egyptian archaeologist Wojciech Ejsmond and researchers write in a Press release.
Specifically, the study authors say that the pH of blood in cadavers drops dramatically and becomes more acidic. This includes blood in the uterus. Over time, levels of ammonia and formic acid also increase.
During the mummification process, Egyptians fill the body with natron, a natural sodium that dries out the body. It also limits the amount of air and oxygen in the corpse.
“The end result is an almost hermetically sealed uterus containing the fetus. The fetus was in an environment comparable to that which preserves the ancient bodies until our time in the swamps”, explain the researchers.
Fetal bones mineralized during mummification
Ejsmond’s team adds that the switch to an acidic environment in the womb caused the baby’s still-developing bones to dissolve. The acid washed out key minerals, which is important because mineralization is usually low during the first two trimesters of pregnancy and speed up later.
The researchers compared the process to dropping an egg into a pan full of acid. The eggshell dissolves, leaving only the albumen, yolk and shell minerals in the acid. In this case, it is two different mummies (mother and child), who have gone through two mummification process.
For the fetus, the researchers believe that the baby dried up during the embalming of the mother. However, this led to the mineralization of dissolved bone minerals of the infant around the soft tissues of the fetus and uterus. This is how scientists say they were able to detect the unborn child when taking CT scans of the Mysterious Lady.
Could there be more Egyptian babies in mummies?
The study authors believe that potential fetuses in other mummies may not have well-preserved bones and so it is even more difficult to spot them on X-rays or CT scans. While most radiologists look for bones in mummies, Ejsmond says this new study shows it’s also important to look at the shape of soft tissue in the pelvic region.
“The Mysterious Lady still keeps many secrets. We’re still trying to explain why the fetus was left in the womb while other internal organs were removed? study authors write.
“More importantly, there is a very high probability that there are mummies of pregnant women in other museum collections. They may not have been sufficiently analyzed in this aspect. Now, given our findings, it’s only a matter of time before the next mummified pregnant woman is discovered.
The conclusions are published in the Journal of Archaeological Sciences.
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