Takabuti

Takabuti was a married woman who reached an age of between twenty and thirty years. She lived in the Egyptian city of Thebes at the end of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Her mummified body and mummy case are in the Ulster Museum, Belfast.[1] The coffin was opened and the mummy unrolled on 27 January 1835 in Belfast Natural History Society’s museum at College Square North. Edward Hincks, a leading Egyptologist from Ireland was present and deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphs which revealed that she was mistress of a great house. Her mother’s name was Taseniric and her father was a priest of Amun. She was buried in a cemetery west of Thebes. It has been suggested that Takabuti was murdered due to knife wounds found on her body.[2] The same investigation which determined her probable cause of death also tested her DNA which, according to Konstantina Drosou, turned out to be more similar to that of Europeans rather than modern Egyptians.[2] Researcher Angela Stienne accused the investigators of wanting to prove that ancient Egyptians were white, an accusation dismissed by chief curator Hannah Crowdy.[3]

Takabuti

After the Napoleonic Wars there was a brisk trade in Egyptian mummies. Takabuti was purchased in 1834 by Thomas Greg of Ballymenoch House, Holywood, Co. Down. At that time, the unwrapping of a mummy was of considerable scientific interest (as well as curiosity) and later studies revealed beetles later identified as Necrobia mumiarum Hope, 1834, Dermestes maculatus DeGeer, 1774 (as D. vulpinus) and Dermestes frischi Kugelann, 1792 (as D. pollinctus Hope, 1834). The painted coffin was itself of considerable interest and the wrappings of fine linen were given much attention in the town that was the commercial centre of the Irish linen industry. One hundred and seventy years later Takabuti remains a popular attraction for visitors.

References
  1. Lynne and Ronald Wallace Hogg, Ronald Wallace Hogg, FreeToDo Travel Guides - UK and Ireland, FreeToDo Travel Guides, ISBN 0-9553600-0-5, p.345
  2. "Shocking truth behind Takabuti's death revealed". The University of Manchester. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  3. Atkinson, Rebecca (31 January 2020). "New research into Egyptian mummies leads to calls for major ethical review". Museums Association. Retrieved 17 March 2020.


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