Golden Boy

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Archaeologists have managed to “digitally unwrap” the mummified remains of an Egyptian teenage boy buried 2,300 years ago to learn about funerary practices and social status in ancient Egypt, NBC News reported.

Known as Egypt’s “golden boy,” the remains were initially found more than a century ago at a cemetery in Nag el-Hassay in southern Egypt that was used from around 332 to 30 BCE.

In their paper, researcher Sahar Saleem and her team used computer tomography to non-invasively unwrap the boy’s remains and discovered a treasure trove of details.

There were 49 precious amulets adorning the remains of the teenager, many of them believed to be made of gold and other materials, such as faience, or fired clay. One of the artifacts was a golden scarab that was used to replace the boy’s heart.

Saleem explained that Egyptian embalmers placed these amulets with the deceased to protect and assist the body in the afterlife. Judging by the boy’s expensive mummification, she explained that “he came from some very rich family or maybe a noble family.”

The team added that the amulets’ discovery helps provide new insights into ancient Egyptians’ complex belief systems and their intricate funerary rituals.

“All too often in the past, they’ve been removed from their original context on the body, and are therefore seen as little more than pieces of jewelry, which is to misunderstand their actual purpose as a potent amulet,” explained Egyptologist Joann Fletcher, who was not involved in the study.