Radiocarbon dating of linen from an Egyptian mummy
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Date
2011-03-24
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
GNS Science
Abstract
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many museums acquired Egyptian coffins containing mummies from private donors who bought them from dealers in Egypt. Owing to the unknown context of such acquisitions, it cannot be assumed that the mummified individual inside the coffin is the same person named on it. Radiocarbon dating is a key diagnostic test, within the framework of a multidisciplinary study, to help resolve this question. The dating of an adult mummy in the Nicholson Museum at the University of Sydney was therefore checked using 14C dating. For over 150 years, mummy NM R28.2 was identified as Padiashaikhet as per his coffin, dated to the 25th Dynasty, c. 725–700 BC. Radiocarbon results from samples of linen wrappings revealed that the mummy was an unknown individual from the Roman period, 68-129 cal AD. The mummification technique can now be understood within its correct historical context. Copyright (c) 2011 AMS12
Description
Keywords
Isotope dating, Carbon 14, Historical aspects, Diagnostic techniques, Educational facilities
Citation
Jacobsen, G., Bertuch, F., Sowada, K., Palmer, T., Jenkinson, A., (2011). Radiocarbon dating of linen from an Egyptian Mummy. Presentation to the 12th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS 12), 20th - 25th March 2011. Museum of New Zealand: Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand.