While news from the Valley of the King is thin on the ground, I'v got caught up in the story of Queen Mutnodjmet. As somebody else wrote, we know enough about the royal women to tantalise but the facts are few. Perhaps that's my fascination with the royal women of the New Kingdom. Those who have been following the article on the canopic jar will know I am having trouble determining which of four canopic jars in the case belongs to Queen Mutnodjmet. The labelling is poor. Quite how poor I didn't realise until I went back to my photo of the label to see if I'd missed anything which would help determine the jar - I'd assume the labels were in the order of the objects. The label actually describes her as early 19th Dynasty, even though we know that Mutnodjmet died around the 13th year of Horemheb's reign - and he, of course, was the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. Hmmm. Not good.
I was wrong however, about Queeen Mutnodjmet's mummy being missing - I'd picked up some wrong articles. (I'll go back and correct my own next.) All that was discovered was bone fragments including bits of her skull, teeth and pelvis. (See this article.) Her mummy had disintegrated. So the lapse by the Egyptian Museum is rather more understandable.
Jeffrey John
3 weeks ago
2 comments:
I have to accept culpability here.
In my post on Heritage Key I refer to Mutnodjmet's remains and those of a fetus found near her tomb as the "the mummies of a woman and a fetus," and that clearly is in error. In the originating article by Zahi Hawass they are always referred to as skeletal remains, and never as a mummy.
I believe I refer to her remains elsewhere as "remains" and "bones," but once is all it takes!
This was carelessness and shoddy editing and follow through on my behalf, and I too will be making corrections and ammends where necessary. Thanks to Kate for catching it!
I didn't leave my contact link above, so just click on my name in this comment.
And for my Mea Culpas, see here:
http://heritage-key.com/blogs/keith-payne/queen-mutnodjmet-another-branch-tutankhamuns-genetic-line-found-and-lost
And here:
http://emhotep.net/2009/09/09/egypt-in-the-news/the-good-news-mutnodjmets-mummy-isnt-missing-afterall/
Thanks for keeping me honest, Kate!
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