World’s oldest murder mystery

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In what could be the world’s oldest murder mystery, an Egyptian mummy on display in the British Museum for over a century was found by researchers to have been murdered.

Dating about 3500 BC, the mummy was discovered at the site of Gebelein in Upper Egypt in 1896 and was acquired by the British Museum in 1900. The mummy, known as Gebelein Man officially, was wrapped in linen and matting, and placed in a crouched position in a shallow grave.

The mummy revealed its gory secret after a virtual autopsy was carried out by researchers this year – it was CT scanned for the first time. The scans which helped researchers conclude that the mummy was of a man who was probably 18-21 years old when he died.

“Detailed images were created from the CT scans’ high resolution X-rays, allowing us to look inside his body, and examine his muscle, bones, teeth and internal organs in ways never before possible revealing long hidden secrets,” the British Museum said.

However, more interestingly, the researchers found that a cut in his skin over his left shoulder blade was actually caused by a sharp pointed weapon 1.5-2cm wide that probably led to his death. The discovery was only made with help of £D visualisation of the CT scans of the mummy.

The researchers assessed that the weapon had penetrated the young man’s underlying shoulder blade. “The force of the blow was such that it also shattered the rib immediately below the shoulder blade, embedding bone fragments into his muscle tissue, and injuring the left lung and surrounding blood vessels. The absence of any signs of healing and the severity of the injuries suggest that this can be considered the cause of death,” the researchers concluded.

“He has been on display for many decades, but it is only now, through the use of modern science and state-of-the-art technology that we are beginning to understand how Gebelein man lived and died,” the museum said.

“Not only have we been able to discover that Gebelein Man was young when he died but, unexpectedly, the 3D visualisation of the CT scan has confirmed that he was stabbed in the back. The analysis of ancient human remains rarely reveals the cause of death,” Daniel Antoine, British Museum’s curator of physical anthropology said.

“The virtual autopsy table has allowed us explore the CT scan data interactively and clearly visualise his skeleton and internal organs, something that is not always possible with other methods. The autopsy table is also letting visitors discover for themselves how we have been able to gain this information and improve our understanding of life in Predynastic Egypt,” he added.

A virtual autopsy table, which is a new state-of-the-art interactive tool based on medical visualisation, is being trialled in Gallery 64 for a limited time till December 16 and will let visitors explore the Gebelein Man.

Although the researchers stumbled on a murder mystery, there is no information whether the Gebelein Man’s murder was ever solved – it could also be the world’s oldest cold case.