Scientists reconstruct the face of an ancient Egyptian teenager with a large brain after 2,300 years

2023-12-01 2023-12-01T20:24:52Z

Weather of Arabia - For the first time in 2,300 years , the face of an ancient Egyptian mummy was revealed, dating back to a young man who was 14 years old at the time of his death, and who belonged to the Pharaonic family.

The young man, named Menerdis, is poised to inherit his father's job as an Egyptian priest, according to a discovery made by scientists after his mummified remains were found in the Akhmim cemetery in Upper Egypt in 1925.

Restoring the face of an Egyptian mummy

In a recent study, a rare case was diagnosed for a young man who was suffering from enlarged brain, which is a disorder characterized by an abnormally large size of the brain. The study showed that the young man was suffering from deformities in the structure of the skull resulting from enlarged brain, which surprised scientists using modeling technology. Digitally, the researchers reconstructed Menerdis' face, noting that they employed data from living people to enhance the accuracy of the process. The donor's cranial structure and skin were roughly rendered, then modified to match Menerdis's dimensions, revealing his precise facial features.

Researchers working to reconstruct a mummy's face diagnosed the young man with a rare medical condition. According to Cicero Moraes, lead author of the upcoming study, Menerdis was suffering from megaloblastic encephalopathy, a disorder characterized by an abnormal increase in the size of the brain.

Moraes explained:

“It sparked something in the structure, and when we studied the size of the skull, it caught our attention because of its large size, and we noticed that the coffin appeared to be of an older person than expected, but the head had almost full length so the death mask was rotated, otherwise we could not have closed the coffin.”

He added:

“A skull may be considered to have encephalopathy if the head circumference is greater than 2.5 standard deviations for the age and sex of the individual, in which case the head circumference and brain volume are greater than three standard deviations.”

Menerdis' appearance was reconstructed using a digital model of his skull, with soft tissue added using data from living people, including appropriate age groups. The donor's skull and skin structure was virtually recreated, then adjusted to match Menerdis' dimensions, to reveal his true face.

The face of the mummy of the young Menerdis... a painting from a mysterious past

Cicero Moraes, a Brazilian expert on graphics, said:

"It's a young and innocent face; the eyes have been watching us for thousands of years, searching for answers about our past in the present."

It is worth noting that the identity was discovered from the inscriptions on the coffin, where the name of the mummy and his father were identified. Moraes explained that the teenager was living a rich life, saying:

“It is clear that his life was filled with material and spiritual luxury, as his father was part of the religious elite.”

Despite the diagnosis of encephalopathy, the cause of his death remains a mystery. Enlargement may be benign, but it can cause developmental delays, intellectual disability, seizures, and even paralysis.

The Chicago Field Museum holds the remains of the Menerdis today, awaiting the launch of their study after adding academic touches by Moraes and his colleagues Francesco Maria Galassi and Michael Habicht.