A series of images from the study, including CT scans that ‘digitally unwrapped’ the mummy
© Alamy / NASA;JPL-Caltech;UArizona
Incredibly detailed computed tomography (CT) scans of the ‘golden boy’ mummy from ancient Egypt have revealed a hidden trove of 49 amulets, many of which are made of gold. The young mummy earned its nickname because of the dazzling display of wealth, which included a gilded head mask found in the mummy’s sarcophagus. Researchers think he was about 14 or 15 years old when he died because his wisdom teeth had not yet emerged. The golden boy was originally unearthed in 1916 at a cemetery in southern Egypt and has been stored in the basement of The Egyptian Museum in Cairo ever since. The mummy had been in an outer coffin with a Greek inscription and an inner sarcophagus.