The Opening of the Mummy of Minirdis

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On December 5th, scientists started conservation work on the Mummy of Minirdis, the 14-year-old son of a stolist priest. As a stolist, Minirdis’ father would have been responsible for tending to the needs of the gods, usually in the form of a statue, by dressing and undressing it, rubbing it with oil, and making symbolic offerings of food. The stolic priest would have also been responsible with sealing the temple shut every night to keep it safe. Due to the holiness of the position, the priest needed to keep themselves as pure as possible. One way of maintaining this purity was by shaving off all their body hair. It is likely that Minirdis was training to be a stolic priest, as well. 

The Mummy of Minirdis has been a part of the collection of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago since the 1920s. It is one of 30 complete human mummies from Egypt housed at the museum.

Before opening the coffin, CT scans were performed which showed that the boy’s feet were detached and partially unwrapped with his toes sticking out. His shroud and mask were also torn and twisted sideways.

Scientists are still not sure how the boy died, but plan to work to repair the mummy so that it will be safe to travel. For more information, visit www.fieldmuseum.org.

There is Still Time to Help!

Post by Heather Lynn.

Ancient Sumerian Temple Discovered

A buried temple-like structure near the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur (in modern day Iraq) has been found. It is believed to be at least 4000 years old. 

 The size of the structure is massive. The walls are nine feet thick, indicating that the building was of great importance. It’s a monumental complex with rows of rooms encircling a large courtyard. 

Using modern archaeological methods, researchers are testing soil samples to determine information about climate, agriculture, and possible uses for this building. 

 What makes this discovery so important is its location. At more than 10 miles from Ur, it is the first major archaeological find that far from the city center. It is also notable since foreign archaeologists have been banned from the area by the Iraqi government for political reasons many years. This is one of the first discoveries made since archaeologists have been allowed back into the area. 

 What more might they uncover?

Mystery Surrounding 1700 Year Old Tunic

About 2,000 meters (6,560 ft) above sea level on what was likely a Roman-era trade route in southern Norway, a thawing glacier revealed a rare find: a pre-Viking tunic, carbon dated at around 300 CE. It was made to be used as loose fitting outer garment for a man about 176 cms (5 ft 9 inches) tall.

The tunic is made of lamb's wool that has turned greenish-brown with age. There is evidence of a diamond pattern and several patches and repairs indicating it got a lot of use. Only a handful of similar tunics have been found in Europe to date.

Interestingly, there were many other artifacts found nearby including a wooden tent peg, various textiles with decorative shells, spear tips and arrows with ingenious design and even a horse shoe!

The researchers in Oslo are baffled by the tunic. Why would anyone take off a warm tunic by a glacier 6,560 feet above sea level?

So far, the only hypothesis offered is that the owner of the tunic was suffering hypothermia, causing him to feel deceptively warm and confused, leading him to take off his tunic and toss it into the glacier.

A good start, but it is still conjecture. What other reasons could there have been?

Valentine's Day Origin and Lupercalia

♥ Happy Lupercalia! ♥

As with many modern holidays, it is widely theorized by scholars that the true origins of Valentine’s Day is actually steeped in a very ancient Roman pastoral fertility festival, observed on February 13 through 15. The festival was called Lupercalia.

The belief was that the goddess Juno Februata (where the name February comes from) inflicted her "love fever" on the youth. Lupercalia “festivities” involved an orgy and sexual excesses, the sacrifice of goats and dogs, and the burning of salt meal-cakes prepared by the Vestal Virgins. Young men would randomly pick love notes of eligible young women from a container, after which they would try to guess who wrote the notes. Another practice was to smear the foreheads of youths with the blood of a sacrificed dog and goat and send them off with a priest around the perimeter of the city, whipping women along the way with strips of the goat’s skin. This act was to protect the women from infertility.

For years the Christian church tried to suppress the festival of Lupercalia. Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia from the 15th to the 14th and renamed it after the legendary St. Valentine in an attempt to redefine the pagan celebration. Even after the church replaced Lupercus with St. Valentine, the Lupercalia festival continued relatively unchanged except for the sexual excesses.

Though much has changed since the days of Lupercalia, in elementary schools across the country, children still put concealed notes in a box much as the ancient Romans did. Some traditions are well worth keeping!

Happy 100th Birthday Mary Leakey!!!!!

British archaeologist and anthropologist, Mary Leakey, was born one hundred years ago, today, in London, England. She died at the age of 83 in Kenya, Africa on December 9, 1996. 

Leakey was best known for her discovery of the first fossilized Proconsul skull, an extinct ape now believed to be ancestral to humans, and also the discovery of the robust Zinjanthropus skull at Olduvai Gorge. She spent much of her career working side by side with her husband Louis Leakey. Louis died at a younger age in October 1972.

For more information, on her contributions to the study of human origins, please visit the Leaky Foundation website. 

Appearance on Mysterious Realms: Elongated Skulls

My January appearance on Mysterious Realms, where I spoke with Bob Luca and Dr. John DeSalvo about the newly discovered elongated skulls in Mexico.