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Trends in Use of Organic Balms in Egyptian Mummification Revealed Through Biomolecular Analyses

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The Handbook of Mummy Studies

Abstract

The compositions of organic balms from over 70 mummies ranging in date from c. 3500 BC to AD 395, together with ca. 40 undated mummies and a number of canopic jars, have been studied using a combination of gas chromatography (GC), GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), GC-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS), and radiocarbon analysis. Mummies dating to before the Third Intermediate Period (c. 1000 BC) were typically found to be embalmed with only fat or oil, which may have been exogenous to the body in many cases. Investigations of balms from mummies dating from after c. 1000 BC showed them to comprise of fat/oil, beeswax, and/or resin. Pistacia resin, in contrast to coniferous resin, was only identified in a small number of mummies dated to between the Saite and Ptolemaic Periods (c. 700–30 BC). Ruminant adipose fats, nonruminant adipose fats, plant oils, or a combination of these fats and oils were employed in embalming. Steranes and triterpane biomarker analyses for bitumen were performed using selected ion monitoring GC/MS of the saturated hydrocarbon fraction. The earliest example of the use of bitumen identified in this study was in a mummy dated to the Twenty-First to Twenty-Second Dynasties (c. 1064–927 BC), although its use was found to be most prevalent during the Ptolemaic and Graeco-Roman Periods. Quantification of bitumen in mummy balms shows the proportions of bitumen can be high, but balms were never pure bitumen. Combining these findings with those from other studies allowed assessments of variations in the composition of balms according to age, gender, body part, and material type. Most notably, the balms of children and females were found to comprise of fewer ingredients than the adult males. Moreover, it was found that balms collected from the head and limbs were simpler preparations than those applied to the torso. Balms visually identified as “resins” generally contained more ingredients than those applied to bandages and tissues. The major ingredients employed in balms were for the most part probably local to Egypt and cheap (fat/oil and beeswax), although more expensive exotic imported materials (resins and bitumen) were present in a high proportion of balms, especially in those mummies prepared after c. 1000 BC.

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Acknowledgments

We thank John Taylor (British Museum); Marteen Raven (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden, The Netherlands); Rosalie David and Trish Lambert (Manchester museum and tissue bank); Sue Giles (Bristol Museum); Vicky Taylor (Durham Oriental Museum); Julie Greeson (Auckland War Memorial Museum, New Zealand); Willem van Haarlem (Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam); Emma Rabino Massa and Raffaella Bianucci (Università degli Studi di Torino); Faye Kalloniatis (Norwich Castle Museum); Joanna Hayward (Liverpool museum); Kathy Eremin (National Museum of Scotland); and Muhammed Saleh and Nasry Iskander (Cairo Museum) for provision of samples. We thank NERC for studentship to K.A.C. and funding MS facilities, Ian Bull and Rob Berstan fortechnical assistance, and Tom Higham of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator.

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  1. Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK

    Richard P. Evershed & Katherine A. Clark

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  1. Richard P. Evershed
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  2. Katherine A. Clark
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Correspondence to Richard P. Evershed .

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  1. Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Dong Hoon Shin

  2. University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Raffaella Bianucci

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Evershed, R.P., Clark, K.A. (2021). Trends in Use of Organic Balms in Egyptian Mummification Revealed Through Biomolecular Analyses. In: Shin, D.H., Bianucci, R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1614-6_9-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1614-6_9-1

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