Where are the mummies?
The Kelsey museum has two human mummies (both children) and several animal mummies in its collection. The mummies are very fragile and must be climate controlled for their preservation since Michigan’s weather is very different from the dry climate of Egypt that originally preserved them. The Egyptians themselves went to a great deal of trouble to keep the bodies of their dead hidden and private, and this helped keep the mummies so well preserved. The two human mummies in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology are both of children about two or three years old, one probably a boy and the other possibly a girl (thanks to James E. Harris, retired Michigan professor who x-rayed these mummies, for this information). Both appear to be from the Roman period. The boy’s mummy is plain and undecorated; the girl’s has a plaster mask with gilt and painted decoration, heavily damaged. The little boy has also recently had a CT scan! The animal mummies in the collection are also in fragile condition and ca
The Kelsey museum has two human mummies (both children) and several animal mummies in its collection. The mummies are very fragile and must be climate controlled for their preservation since Michigan’s weather is very different from the dry climate of Egypt that originally preserved them. The Egyptians themselves went to a great deal of trouble to keep the bodies of their dead hidden and private, and this helped keep the mummies so well preserved. The two human mummies in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology are both of children about two or three years old, one probably a boy and the other possibly a girl (thanks to James E. Harris, retired Michigan professor who x-rayed these mummies, for this information). Both appear to be from the Roman period. The boy’s mummy is plain and undecorated; the girl’s has a plaster mask with gilt and painted decoration, heavily damaged. The boy’s mummy underwent a CT-scan investigation and is now on display in the new Upjohn Exhibit Wing of the Kelsey Muse
