London: Ancient Egyptians stocked tombs with clothing, furniture and even mummified food to ensure continued comfort and happiness after death.
Several tombs contain pieces of mummified meat, wrapped in bandages and covered in balm. High status Egyptians had themselves interred with furniture, jewelry and even mummified pets.
Richard Evershed of the University of Bristol and colleagues chemically analysed the balms on some of these mummified meats.
Researchers believe the Egyptians used the balms for preservation and flavour enhancement, 'Phys.org' reported.
The most luxurious coating was on bandages covering mummified beef ribs, dated between 1386 and 1349 BC, found in the tomb of Yuya and Tjuiu, the parents of Queen Tiye, the wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Scientists have found hundreds of meat mummies in ancient Egyptian tombs. Most of them are joints of meat or poultry, prepared as if for eating, then wrapped.
Dark residue that covers the bandages appears organic balms applied to human and animal mummies.
Scientists used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyse four pieces of mummified meat stored at different museums.
Researchers found that the composition of the balms varied over time and believe the ancient Egyptians deliberately added them.
External bandages from a victual calf mummy, dated from 1064 to 948 BC, in the tomb of Isetemkheb, the wife of a high priest, contained compounds made from animal fat.
Since these compounds had no contact with the meat, the researchers think they were not grease from the meat, but a balm applied deliberately as a preservative.
The study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Several tombs contain pieces of mummified meat, wrapped in bandages and covered in balm. High status Egyptians had themselves interred with furniture, jewelry and even mummified pets.
Richard Evershed of the University of Bristol and colleagues chemically analysed the balms on some of these mummified meats.
The most luxurious coating was on bandages covering mummified beef ribs, dated between 1386 and 1349 BC, found in the tomb of Yuya and Tjuiu, the parents of Queen Tiye, the wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Advertisement
Dark residue that covers the bandages appears organic balms applied to human and animal mummies.
Advertisement
Researchers found that the composition of the balms varied over time and believe the ancient Egyptians deliberately added them.
Advertisement
Since these compounds had no contact with the meat, the researchers think they were not grease from the meat, but a balm applied deliberately as a preservative.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Alaya Furniturewalla's Black Midi Dress Was A Stylish Boon To Her London Trip Video Of London Startup's Tiffin Service Inspired By Mumbai Dabbawalas Goes Viral Chhatrapati Shivaji's 'Wagh Nakh' Arrives In Mumbai From London Museum Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Killed In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests Tesla Halted Some Production Lines Due To Global IT Outage: Report SpiceJet Says Services Up Again After "Resolution" Of Microsoft Outage Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.