How to make a mummy

Today, I thought I should share something for our younger visitors. As you may imagine, they’re always fascinated by our mummy, and can hardly wait until we lift the cloth over the glass case [1] … and have loads of questions to ask!

Searching for Sodom and Gomorrah?

The destruction of Sodom in the Golden Haggadah [Image: © British Library]

While most visitors come to see our mummy, the archaeological core of our collection is the material (and the archive) from Teleilat el-Ghassul. “Teleilat what?” I can hear you quite a few of you say.

Not exactly a site known to the uninitiated. Teleilat el-Ghassul is c. 295 metres below sea level, on the east side of the Jordan river, to the north of the Dead Sea. It is a large site, some 50 acres in area, first excavated by Fr Alexis Mallon and the team from the Pontifical Biblical Institute between 1929 and 1938. Excavations resumed in 1960 under the direction of Fr Robert North. The site has subsequently been excavated by the University of Sydney.

But what about Sodom and Gomorrah?

The man behind the mask

Most visitors to the our Museum, come to see our mummy, our Alex as he’s affectionately known, since the mummy was a gift by the Jesuits in Alexandria. Actually, his name – written on the coffin inscription reads it.t.Hr-r-w or Yarat‑Hor‑ru, which means, The Protective Eye of Horus, who was a minor official, a priest.