Tests begin to shed light on mummy in Barnum Museum

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. --This mummy may have been a mom.

Radiological tests on the mummy in the Barnum Museum indicate the remains may be those of a woman who was at least 18 years old and possibly 30 or older.

Dr. Ruben Kier, chairman of the board at Advanced Radiology Consultants in Fairfield where the tests were performed Wednesday, said CT scans showed evidence of arthritis in the pelvic area, which is common with women who have given birth.

The examination showed no external genitals, another indication the mummy may have been female, he said. However, the remains were severely dried out, making a definitive identification of the gender difficult.

The mummy, known at the museum as Pa-Ib, was preserved with resin and wrapped in cloth, Kier said. It has been in the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport since 1892, and was a prized exhibit of the flamboyant showman P.T. Barnum.

The museum says the remains are those of an Egyptian priest dating back 2,500 years.

Mummy experts from Quinnipiac University have been studying the relic for a month and transported the fragile mummy to the clinic for the tests.

Kier said the scan was a success and the bones were in excellent condition.

"There was a tremendous amount of data," he said.

He said he will continue to study the images, which he will take to a national radiologists meeting in Chicago next month.

An MRI yielded fewer results because the imaging relies on the presence of water in tissue. The mummy was so dry there was no water, Kier said.

"It was like scanning a ghost," he said.

Kier said he was not able to determine a cause of death. He found no severe trauma or fracture of the skull or spine. Most deaths centuries ago before the discovery of antibiotics were due to infectious diseases, he said.

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On the Net: http://www.barnum-museum.org