The “pregnant mummy” from Warsaw reassessed: NOT pregnant. Radiological case study, literature review of ancient feti in Egypt and the pitfalls of archaeological and non-archaeological methods in mummy studies

Abstract

The case of the first “pregnant ancient Egyptian mummy”, as published by Ejsmond et al. (2021), has raised doubts regarding their conclusions unsupported by (paleo)radiological expertise. Their interpretation of the structures inside the pelvis of the Warsaw mummy as a fetus in the 26th–30th week of gestation has starkly demonstrated some of the pitfalls in the mummy studies. In doing so, it has also accentuated the potential of an enhanced Mixed Reality (XR) technology applied to the interpretation of computed tomography (CT) results acquired through tested mummy scanning protocols. The present paper reassesses the same initial radiological data generated for the Warsaw Mummy Project (WMP) that Ejsmond et al. used, applying the same software, more complex software and also enhanced by XR technology. This new approach supports the specific field of mummy studies while holding enormous potential for scientific popularization also in a museum environment. The new CT analysis by a diagnostic imaging professional, illustrated extensively with radiological images, bolstered by a review of archaeological Egyptian literature on mummies and feti, provides grounds for dismissing the fetus interpretation in lieu of a more probable identification of the relevant structure as a bundle that is more readily expected within the pelvis of a mummified body. A discussion of the assumptions made by Ejsmond et al. (fetal preservation, age, aspects of fetal methodology with relevant literature) reveals the dangers of misuse of the mummy research protocols as used today and suggests certain methodological improvements in cases of suspected fetal presence.

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01598-z
ORIGINAL PAPER
The “pregnant mummy” fromWarsaw reassessed: NOTpregnant.
Radiological case study, literature review ofancient feti inEgypt
andthepitfalls ofarchaeological andnon‑archaeological methods
inmummy studies
KamilaBraulińska1,2 · ŁukaszKownacki3· DorotaIgnatowicz‑Woźniakowska4· MariaKurpik4
Received: 2 April 2022 / Accepted: 5 June 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022
Abstract
The case of the first “pregnant ancient Egyptian mummy”, as published by Ejsmond etal. (2021), has raised doubts regarding
their conclusions unsupported by (paleo)radiological expertise. Their interpretation of the structures inside the pelvis of the War-
saw mummy as a fetus in the 26th–30th week of gestation has starkly demonstrated some of the pitfalls in the mummy studies.
In doing so, it has also accentuated the potential of an enhanced Mixed Reality (XR) technology applied to the interpretation of
computed tomography (CT) results acquired through tested mummy scanning protocols. The present paper reassesses the same
initial radiological data generated for the Warsaw Mummy Project (WMP) that Ejsmond etal. used, applying the same software,
more complex software and also enhanced by XR technology. This new approach supports the specific field of mummy studies
while holding enormous potential for scientific popularization also in a museum environment. The new CT analysis by a diagnostic
imaging professional, illustrated extensively with radiological images, bolstered by a review of archaeological Egyptian literature on
mummies and feti, provides grounds for dismissing the fetus interpretation in lieu of a more probable identification of the relevant
structure as a bundle that is more readily expected within the pelvis of a mummified body. A discussion of the assumptions made
by Ejsmond etal. (fetal preservation, age, aspects of fetal methodology with relevant literature) reveals the dangers of misuse of the
mummy research protocols as used today and suggests certain methodological improvements in cases of suspected fetal presence.
Keywords Paleoradiology· Bioarchaeology· Non-invasive archaeology· Warsaw Mummy Project· Mixed Reality (XR)·
Fetus in ancient Egypt
Introduction
The Warsaw mummy that was recently declared to be the
first ancient Egyptian mummy to be preserved with a fetus
inside the womb (Ejsmond etal. 2021) has understandably
dominated the scholarly discussion, not to mention attracting
broad popular interest. Ejsmond and colleagues (Ejsmond
etal. 2021) made their discovery of a “pregnant mummy”1
based on imaging data produced according to state-of-the-art
mummy scanning protocols, within the frame of the Warsaw
Mummy Project (WMP). They proclaimed a 26–30-week-
old fetus in the pelvic area, not extracted together with the
other viscera (including “the heart, lungs, liver, and intes-
tines with the stomach”; Ejsmond etal. 2021, p. 5) during
the mummification process, and estimated its age based on
a “head” circumference of 25cm using modern Western
feti age estimations (not to mention ultrasonography as a
comparative source). According to Ejsmond etal., the long
bones were poorly preserved and not measurable, this due
* Kamila Braulińska
ks.braulinska@uw.edu.pl
1 Faculty ofArchaeology, University ofWarsaw, 26/28
Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, 00-927Warsaw, Poland
2 Warsaw Mummy Project, University ofWarsaw, 26/28
Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, 00-927Warsaw, Poland
3 Department ofDiagnostic Imaging, European Health Center
Otwock, 14/18 Borowa Street, 05-400Otwock, Poland
4 Department ofConservation, National Museum inWarsaw, 3
Al. Jerozolimskie, 00-495Warsaw, Poland
1 “A pregnant ancient egyptian mummy” (original spelling), although
it would be more correct to replace the phrase “pregnant mummy”
with “the mummy of a pregnant woman”.
/ Published online: 29 July 2022
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 158
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