It is not easy to ignore the mystery and magic that is induced by the pharaonic mummies and the magnificent fictional worlds that they have inspired filmmakers from all over the world to create.
However, the mummies’ daily lives in Egyptian museums seem even more charming and exciting than those fictional worlds, despite the regulations and meticulously maintained standards required to ensure their preservation.
It seems that the most mysterious thing about the world of the mummies inside the walls of museums is that they can die again, sometimes as a result of sudden problems such as power cuts, and often due to problems with the mummification process and the materials used in it, as the standards determined by the mummy's status and social class.
The mummy exhibit halls are designed according to requirements particular to them, including the maintenance of temperatures and humidity levels at particular ranges.
The display cabinets were recently replaced with more advanced hermetically sealed cabinets fitted with nitrogen, according to Dr. Samia Al-Mirghani, the former General Director of the Antiquities Research and Conservation Center at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.
“The temperature in the mummy's exhibition halls should range between 20 and 22 degrees Celsius, with an allowable increase and drop of two degrees, meaning it can reach a maximum of 24 degrees Celsius, and humidity must remain between 45 to 50 percent,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat. “The air conditioner runs 24 hours a day.”
She goes on to explain that a curtain for the air conditioner is placed at the hall’s entrance to ensure that the temperature is not changed by the entry of the visitors, and the hall is equipped with sensors that measure and record changes in temperature, humidity and lighting level every five minutes. The data is then sent to a computer that has software to analyze the data connected to the surveillance cameras. “Egyptian museums have finally installed modern display cabinets, where the mummy is stored in hermetically sealed space, preventing the entry of oxygen and other elements from the surrounding environment.
It also prevents insects and microorganisms that cause biological damage from entering. The mummies are exposed to many other threats, including power outages. Thus, the exhibition halls are connected to an emergency backup supply of electricity”. Besides interventions during emergencies, the mummies are comprehensively and periodically maintained twice a year.
Some mummies become completely damaged and die again, according to Dr. Dalia Meligy, the current General Director of the Center for Research and Preservation of Antiquities at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.
She told Asharq Al-Awsat that “complete damage to the mummy could occur from any kind of deficiency in its maintenance, like problems with temperature or humidity, which lead it to burn due to microbiological or biological infection.”
Problems with the quality of the mummification are the most common reason and the mummification process clearly reflects a class distinction. According to Meligy, “kings, pharaohs and their families are at the top of the social ladder, followed by priests, then the general public. All ancient Egyptians used to mummify their dead in accordance with their financial capabilities, as it is linked to a belief in the idea of resurrection and another life, and we make use of the bones of burnt mummies for scientific research at the ministry and universities."
