Reconstructing Irtysenu: From 19th Century Autopsy to 21st Century Discovery
From 19th Century Autopsy to 21st Century Discovery
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Begravelsespraksis, palaeopathology, Egypten, Etisk praksis, MorphologiResumé
Ancient Egyptian mummified individuals can offer valuable insights into history. This
article will focus on the case of Irtysenu, Lady of the House, also known as Dr.
Granville’s Mummy, trying to reconstruct her journey from her first autopsy in 1821 by
Dr. Augustus Bozzi Granville to recent examinations through a literature review.
Irtysenu has undergone multiple tests aiming to determine her cause of death, age,
and race, among other factors. But how much new information can modern methods
like ancient DNA analysis and X‐ray provide? As this paper traces Irtysenu’s story over
the past 200 years, it shows how new technologies can reveal fresh details about her
health and disease, changing her originally identified cause of death from an ovarian
tumor to pulmonary tuberculosis, and exploring potential reasons for her weight loss,
offering further insights into her overall health.
Referencer
AlQahtani, S. J. et al. (2010). Brief communication: The London atlas of human tooth development and eruption. American journal of physical anthropology, 142(3), 481–490. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.21258
Brier, B. (2004). Infectious diseases in ancient Egypt. Infectious Disease Clinics of North
America. [Online] 18 (1), 17–27. https://doi‐org.ep.fjernadgang.kb.dk/10.1016/S0891‐5520(03)00097‐7
British Museum (2026a). Coffin, Museum Number: EA29781. The British Museum.
Retrieved March 5, 2026, from https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA29781?selectedImageId=364427001
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Copyright (c) 2026 Foldbjerg El‐Naaman; Mahmoud Alsayed Ahmed,
Dette værk er under følgende licens Creative Commons Navngivelse – Ikke-kommerciel – Ingen Bearbejdede Værker (by-nc-nd).
Licensen er under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0. (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
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