Tutankhamun’s Daughters
Within the Tutankhamun’s tomb, two mummified foetuses were discovered. Known as Mummies 317a and 317b, the female mummies were buried with no namesake alongside their father, and are simply referred to as “Osiris” on their coffins
The foetus known as 317a was born prematurely at approximately 5–6 months of gestation. With C.T. scans estimating her to have been about 24.7 weeks old at the time of death. Contrary to this, the mummy known as 317b was born at or close to full term, with a gestational age estimated around 36 weeks.
There were initial reports suggesting congenital abnormalities like spina bifida and scoliosis, especially for the mummy of baby 317b. However, later, more detailed C.T. scans by Dr. Saleem and others have largely disproven these claims, attributing the skeletal damages to post-mortem fractures and poor storage conditions rather than congenital anomalies.
Photographs by Kenneth Garrett for National Geographic
Both of the girls were mummified with significant care, using methods typical for high-status individuals. Mummy 317a was provided with a gilded mummy mask, while 317b’s mask was too small, which could mean it was re-used by another, or simply made too small by mistake with not enough time to remake another.
The daughters were buried in two-coffin sets of miniature size, similar to those used for nobility, indicating their royal status and the importance placed on their posthumous journey, and they were placed within their father’s tomb seemingly lovingly.
The lids were secured to the coffin bases with eight flat wooden tenons. The sarcophagi were surrounded by bands bearing clay seal impressions of a jackal and the Nine Bows (Egypt’s nine adversaries).
Bands were additionally tied around the mummy packs under the chin, at the waist, and around the ankles. Each outer casket housed a second coffin wrapped in gold foil. The mummified foetuses were kept in these gilded inner coffins.
DNA testing has pretty much declared it extremely likely that the mother of the two girls was KV21a, however, it is thought the results were not statistically conclusive to certify officially. However, the analysis of DNA tells us that it is “overwhelmingly confirmed” that Tutankhamun is the father of both of the babies, with “very high probability”.
With this in mind, but always with the “possibility” of change to such a theory coming forth in the future, it is safe to assume that mummy KV21a is that of Ankhesenamun, the wife of Tutankhamun and daughter of Nefertiti & Akhenaten, but at the present more testing will need to be done to certify her identity officially.
The mummies of the Girls
With the death of his daughters, Tutankhamun’s lineage came to an end with his death at 18 or 19 years of age.
Burton photograph 0939 | © Griffith Institute, University of Oxford (colourised by Dynamichrome)
Burton Photo. No. P1064
Carter initially inspected the smaller mummy in 1925, after removing the bandages, however, neither of the foetuses were thoroughly examined until 1932, when Douglas Derry from Cairo University’s anatomy department performed autopsies on both mummies. At the postmortem investigation, Derry identified both mummies as female foetuses at 5 and 7 months gestation. The smaller foetus, 317a, was nearly perfectly intact at the time and measured 25.75 cm in length, with her arms resting on the fronts of her thighs. She had no brows or eyelashes, and even 21 millimetres of the umbilical cord remained preserved:
“On the head are visible many fine whitish hairs of a silky appearance, probably the remains of lanugo. It is estimated from the length of the foetus, the absence of eyelashes and the state of the eyelids, that the intrauterine age of the child when born could not have exceeded five months.” – Dr. Douglas Derry
Lanugo is a fine, soft, unpigmented hair that covers a foetus or newborn. Lanugo usually appears around 16 weeks of gestation and is abundant by week 20.
