A look at Barnum Museum's 4,000-year-old mummy
The mummy, who has been named Ipy, was once believed to be an Egyptian male priest but actually turned out to be a woman.
For nearly two decades, the Barnum Museum has been working to learn more about its oldest artifacts once curators learned she wasn't who they thought she was.
The mummy, who has been named Ipy, was once believed to be an Egyptian male priest but actually turned out to be a woman.
"About 2,500 years old and the name was Pyiad," said Kathleen Mahr, executive director of the Barnum Museum.
Maher's curiosity got the best of her, and she decided to do some digging into Ipy's past "to really find out who this was, if the story matched."
For decades, they worked with scholars who helped them understand the life Ipy may have led at the time.
"She probably lived with some wealth, some standing in her community based on the way her arms were crossed. She had 11 major abscesses. So, she must have been in terrible pain at the time that she died, which was about 30 years old," said Mahr.
They created a 3D visual of what Ipy would have looked like.
"We were able to give our female mummy her life again. Which is the point of Egyptian afterlife," said Mahr.
Every revelation in the process was documented and converted into a series uploaded to YouTube.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/CvdYCK9Uhmc[/youtube]
Ipy has been taken off display while the museum undergoes restorations but will return once the museum is finished. Museum officials say she may have her own room.
MORE: Barnum Museum learns true identity of 4,000-year-old mummy
