Brooklyn Museum unwraps the secrets of ancient Egypt

A mummy stored in the Brooklyn Museum for almost a century is now being studied by scientists to shed light about life in ancient Egypt. The mummy, named Demitrius, is more than 2,000 years old and has

News 12 Staff

Aug 11, 2007, 5:15 PM

Updated 6,274 days ago

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A mummy stored in the Brooklyn Museum for almost a century is now being studied by scientists to shed light about life in ancient Egypt.
The mummy, named Demitrius, is more than 2,000 years old and has spent the last century on the sixth floor of the museum. The mummy never made it as an exhibit and only recently has his life and death been studied.
Through CT scans and scientific studies, Demitrius? life has been unwrapped. Museum employees say Demitrius is thought to have died in his 50s. A portrait was found over the mummy?s face. Scientists say the red paint coating Demitrius? wrapping signify trade and money, meaning he was probably a wealthy man. However, Demitrius? death remains a mystery, and the absence of his heart has stumped scientists. The curator says usually a heart is found inside a mummy because the heart was to act as a witness that the person lived a good life.The mummy, along with more than 100 other artifacts, will make its first stop at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. There are seven other cities on the tour before the exhibit returns to Brooklyn, probably in 2011.