Mastaba 17 burial details reveal royal-quality mummification and grave goods. Bones were discovered by Flinders Petrie inside the sarcophagus The body had been entirely defleshed, with each bone wrapped separately before the body was recomposed Thick wrappings gave the body a true living shape, with wooden models of clothing fastenings

Flinders Petrie found bones inside the sarcophagus. The body was defleshed, with each bone wrapped separately before recomposition. Thick wrappings gave it a lifelike shape, with paste ball eyes and surviving dark hair. Grave goods included two crooks (one painted yellow, 20.8 inches) and a mace. Tragic: the bones were destroyed in the London Blitz. 💀

Key Facts

  • Bones were discovered by Flinders Petrie inside the sarcophagus
  • The body had been entirely defleshed, with each bone wrapped separately before the body was recomposed
  • Thick wrappings gave the body a true living shape, with wooden models of clothing fastenings
  • The eyes were replaced with paste balls, and remnants of curly black or dark brown hair and pale brown skin survived
  • Grave goods included two crooks and a mace; one crook was painted yellow and measured 20.8 inches (1 cubit)
  • Internal sarcophagus dimensions were approximately 6 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft, leaving no room for a wooden coffin
  • Gerard Wayne Wright estimated the individual at 1.72 m (5'6") in height
  • The bones were sent to London and destroyed during the Blitz in World War II
  • Photographs of the bones were published by Petrie and Wayn in their 1910 book "Meidum and Memphis III"

Related site: Mastaba K2 (Beit Khallaf) — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.

Source: EXCLUSIVE: Pyramid King's Face Reconstructed: Sneferu Revealed! by Ancient Architects