Ta-Kr-Hb

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Ta-Kr-Hb is a female mummy who was donated to the Perth Museum and Art Gallery in Scotland in 1936, believed to be the remains of a princess or priestess of Thebes. [1] [2] The remains are estimated to be up to 2,700 or around 3000 years old. The name of the mummy 'Ta-Kr-Hb' (pronounced 'Takherheb') and her status as a princess were revealed by the hieroglyphs on the lid of her coffin. [2] [3]

Contents

Biography

Research by the University of Manchester has revealed that Ta-Kr-Hb was female, and around 35 or more years old when she died, with poor dental health. [4]

The hieroglyphs on her coffin lid indicate that she was a high-status princess or priestess of Thebes, or the Egyptian town of Akhmim. [5]

Condition of mummy

In 2013, the same study conducted by the University of Manchester suggested that the mummy could be up to 2,700 years old. An examination of the mummy at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital revealed that Ta-Kr-Hb's chest and pelvis had been damaged post mummification. [3] Imaging techniques showed that the bones in her chest and abdomen were broken and dislocated. [5] The mummy's fragile state has been attributed to grave robbers. [6] [2] A JustGiving campaign was launched by the Perth and Kinross museum's trust in order to raise money to help fund the work needed to prevent the mummy's deterioration. By 2020 the campaign had raised £1,307. [2]

The coffin

The researchers at the University of Manchester found that the coffin was likely to have been made in the town of Akhmim during the 25th-26th dynasty, dating it around 760 BC to 525 BC. [3] In 2020, Scottish conservators discovered paintings on the upper and lower side of the base of Ta-Kr-Hb's coffin trough for the first time. [2] The Collections Officer at the Perth Museum and Art Gallery Dr Mark Hall told the Scotsman, "We had never had a reason to lift the whole thing so high that we could see the underneath of the trough and had never lifted the mummy out before and didn't expect to see anything there." [6] The paintings on the coffin depict the Egyptian goddess Imentet or Amentet, the goddess of the dead. On the coffin, Imentet is shown standing on a platform, wearing a red dress which shows that she is of divine nature or a goddess. [6] The coffin is almost entirely intact other than some damage to its footboard. [4]

Ownership and exhibition history

The remains of Ta-Kr-Hb were bought by William Bailey from a curator at a museum in Cairo, and were donated by Bailey to the Alloa Society of Natural Science and Archaeology in 1896. [7] In 1936, both the mummy and coffin were donated to the Perth Museum, where the mummy resides today, in the Foreign Archaeology Collection. [8] The remains were exhibited at the Perth Museum until 1970s, when it was decided that they were to fragile to continue being displayed. [5]

Present day significance

The mummy is one of the highlights of the Perth Museum, and remains popular with local visitors. [5]

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References

  1. ↑ "Museum to Raise Funds for Mummy". Small City Big Personality. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Scholars Just Removed a High-Ranking Mummy From Her Coffin—Only to Discover She Was Buried With a Secret Painting Gallery". Artnet News. 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  3. 1 2 3 "Name of Egyptian mummy from Perth museum revealed". BBC News. 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  4. 1 2 McKnight, Lidija M; Loynes, Robert D (2014-07-01). "From Egyptian Desert to Scottish Highlands – the radiographic study of a Twenty-Fifth Dynasty coffin and mummy bundle from the Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland". Papers on Anthropology. 23 (1): 108. doi:10.12697/poa.2014.23.1.09. ISSN   1736-7646.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Icon. "Icon News Feature: The Perth Mummy". www.icon.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  6. 1 2 3 Young, Alan (4 April 2020). "Hidden secret of the mummy in a Scottish museum". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Magazine, Smithsonian; McGreevy, Nora. "Archaeologists Discover Paintings of Goddess in 3,000-Year-Old Mummy's Coffin". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  8. ↑ "Culture Perth and Kinross - Perth Museum". Culture Perth and Kinross. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
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