More re Tutankhamen’s mummified fetuses

August 16, 2008 · Filed Under Ancient Egypt, Research and Theories

A scientist who conducted serological studies of one of the two mummified fetuses from the tomb of Tutankhamen back in 1979 has determined from the blood group data that it is the pharaoh’s baby girl, according to a Discovery News report.

The fetuses have been stored at the Cairo University’s Faculty of Medicine since archaeologist Howard Carter first discovered them in Tutankhamen’s tomb on the west bank of Luxor, Egypt in 1922. Never publicly displayed, the two fetuses will soon undergo CT scans and DNA testing to determine possible diseases and their relation to the famous pharaoh, and possibly “identify the fetuses’ mother,” Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in a statement.

The smaller fetus, about five months in gestational age, has only been examined by Carter in 1925. The mummy is less than 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) in height and is well preserved, according to Rühli. The older, larger fetus is estimated to be between seven and nine months in gestational age. It is less well preserved than the other and measures 38.5 centimeters (15.16 inches).

Tutankhamen, then Tutankhaten married 13-year-old Ankhesenpaaten (later Ankhsenamen), Nefertiti’s daughter, on his accession to the throne. Both mummified fetuses might be their stillborn daughters, as many scholars believe. DNA analysis on the fetuses could help determine whether Ankhesenamen was Tutankhamen’s half-sister or full sister. If the fetus DNA matches the DNA of both parents, then Tutankhamen and Ankhsenamen shared the same mother, the beautiful queen Nefertiti.

Discovery News