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Abstract
Ancient Egyptian mummification was practiced for nearly 4000 years as a key feature of some of the most complex mortuary practices documented in the archaeological record. Embalming, the preservation of the body and organs of the deceased for the afterlife, was a central component of the Egyptian mummification process. Here, we combine GC–MS, HT-GC–MS, and LC–MS/MS analyses to examine mummification balms excavated more than a century ago by Howard Carter from Tomb KV42 in the Valley of the Kings. Balm residues were scraped from now empty canopic jars that once contained the mummified organs of the noble lady Senetnay, dating to the 18th dynasty, ca. 1450 BCE. Our analysis revealed balms consisting of beeswax, plant oil, fats, bitumen, Pinaceae resins, a balsamic substance, and dammar or Pistacia tree resin. These are the richest, most complex balms yet identified for this early time period and they shed light on balm ingredients for which there is limited information in Egyptian textual sources. They highlight both the exceptional status of Senetnay and the myriad trade connections of the Egyptians in the 2nd millennium BCE. They further illustrate the excellent preservation possible even for organic remains long removed from their original archaeological context.
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1 Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Department of Archaeology, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.4372.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2105 1091); Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Tübingen, Germany (GRID:grid.10392.39) (ISNI:0000 0001 2190 1447)
2 Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Erlangen, Germany (GRID:grid.5330.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 2107 3311)
3 Egyptian and Islamic Collections, Museum August Kestner, Hannover, Germany (GRID:grid.5330.5)
4 Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Department of Archaeology, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.4372.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2105 1091)
5 Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Department of Archaeology, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.4372.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2105 1091); Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Biochemistry, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.418160.a) (ISNI:0000 0004 0491 7131)
6 Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Department of Archaeology, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.4372.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2105 1091); Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Domestication and Anthropogenic Research Group, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.4372.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2105 1091)
7 University College London, Institute of Archaeology, London, UK (GRID:grid.83440.3b) (ISNI:0000000121901201)
8 Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Department of Archaeology, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.4372.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2105 1091); Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, isoTROPIC Research Group, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.4372.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2105 1091)
9 Aix Marseille University, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement des Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France (GRID:grid.5399.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 4817)
10 Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Department of Archaeology, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.4372.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2105 1091); The University of Queensland, School of Social Science, Brisbane, Australia (GRID:grid.1003.2) (ISNI:0000 0000 9320 7537)