Mummy of Hatshepsut
The Mummy of Queen Hatshepsut was found in 1903 by Howard Carter in (KV60), in the Valley of the Kings. Carter had discovered two mummies in the tomb. One was in a coffin, the second was stretched out on the floor. Since the tomb had been ransacked in antiquity, Carter thought it of marginal interest and resealed it.
While assembling all unidentified mummies with their right arms placed across their chests a royal posture for the Egyptian Mummy Project, some were studied with a CT-scan machine.
At the same time a canopic box from the Deir el-Bahari Cachette (DB320) that was inscribed for Hatshepsut and contained her liver was also scanned. There was also a tooth inside, a molar with a root; and when examined it was found that it fitted exactly into the mouth of one of the royal women.
After analysis of Hatshepsut’s mummy, it was concluded that she had died at about the age of fifty, that she had been obese, and that she had diabetes and cancer. The box that contained the tooth is also on display near the mummy.
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Hatshepsut, ca. 1479-1458 BC. Now in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), Cairo.
