Mummy of Djedmaatesankh

Key Dates

850

Created ca. 850 BC

Key People

Djedmaatesankh- Was a musician at the temple of Amun-Re in Karnak. She died ca. 850 BC of a dental cyst in her upper left jaw. It burst open and poisoned her. Her husband was Paankhntof, a doorkeeper at the temple where she worked.

This coffin, with a mummified body inside, is from the Deir el-Bahri area of Egypt. The mummy’s name is Djedmaatesankh and she died ca. 850 BC in Egypt. She lived in a time called the "Third Intermediate Period" when the Egyptian state had collapsed and the country had fragmented into local power groups.

Djedmaatesankh was a musician in the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak and her husband was a door-keeper at the same temple. Her husband’s name is Paankhntof - a door-keeper at the same temple.

CT scans performed on the coffin have revealed that Djedmaatesankh died from a dental cyst when she was in her early or mid thirties. The cyst burst open and poisoned her.

The coffin is made of moulded linen and plaster. It was painted and has gold leaf. It contains numerous references to the Book of Caverns. It's a funerary text that depicts the underworld as being a series of caverns occupied by deities who are waiting for the passage of the sun, to bring them back to life.

Origin & Collection

Discovered at:

Deir El-Bahri

On display at:

Royal Ontario Museum

Physical properties

Width:

38.10cm

Height:

27.95cm

Lenght:

134.70cm