Who Was She?

According to an Egyptologist, the mummy and associated coffin were probably excavated around 1884 in a large burial site at Akhmim. In ancient times Akhmim was located in Upper Egypt on the east bank of the Nile River.

The Egyptologist also interpreted the image of a serpent adorning the sides of her coffin. Serpents represent goddesses who were guardian deities, protecting the deceased from enemies. While this image is often associated with kings, by the Ptolemaic period serpents were often found on non-royal coffins. This told us that in all likelihood these remains were not a princess as legend had it, but rather a woman from a well-to-do family.

The Egyptologist’s most revealing find was that the name of the mummified woman had been either scraped away or purposely left off the coffin. The lid of the coffin stands behind the mummy in the Museum’s exhibit gallery. You can see a distinct area of wear at the center of the chest area and the top of the foot area. These would have been the most likely places for her name.

Many questions have been asked why her name was removed. Could it have been removed by her family or priests, perhaps because she had disgraced the family, or did someone in the recent past remove it to cover up her identity? One theory is that the first people to have her remains in the late 1800's removed her name so they could claim she was a princess and make her more desirable for sale. 

What do you think perpetuated the removal of her name? What name would you want to be placed on your burial ground?