Funerary practices in Old Kingdom Egypt revealed through a cross-disciplinary study of a mummy with painted bandages from Gebelein (Upper Egypt)

Funerary practices in Old Kingdom Egypt revealed through a cross-disciplinary study of a mummy with painted bandages from Gebelein (Upper Egypt) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Funerary practices in Old Kingdom Egypt revealed through a cross-disciplinary study of a mummy with painted bandages from Gebelein (Upper Egypt) Rosa Boano, Elisa Fiore Marochetti, Gianluigi Mangiapane, Michael W. Dee, and 10 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4598081/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Jun, 2025 Read the published version in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The present study provides new data on funerary practices performed during the Old Kingdom at Gebelein (Upper Egypt) through a multidisciplinary analysis of a complete wrapped body with painted face bandages (S16731), which we radiocarbon dated to the 4th dynasty. The painting was revealed by the innovative laser-based cleaning method that was used to remove the compact layer of dust from the linen bandages. To our knowledge, this is the oldest securely-dated mummy that reproduces facial features through paintings on bandages. Old Kingdom mummies are rarely represented in museum collections; therefore, our research offers a unique insight into the little-known evolution of embalming practices during the Early Dynasties of Egypt. The analyses carried out on the mummy, which is currently held at the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Turin (Italy) provided novel results, with CT scans showed a peculiar displacement of the thoracic and pelvic bone suggesting that the individual was in a decomposed state at the time of wrapping while chemical analyses confirmed the use of resin, soil/earth and gypsum for the treatment of the body. This rare and remarkable example of an Old Kingdom embalmed body, with its unique equipment, clearly demonstrates how mummification practices during the early dynasties were already characterised by a very high level of care and skill. Egypt Gebelein Old Kingdom mummified remains embalming practices conservation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Jun, 2025 Read the published version in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 22 Feb, 2025 Reviews received at journal 20 Feb, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Feb, 2025 Reviews received at journal 27 Dec, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Nov, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 27 Nov, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 19 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 18 Jun, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4598081","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":319774066,"identity":"933fbca4-5899-40b1-b35b-adc26c910a50","order_by":0,"name":"Rosa Boano","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Turin","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rosa","middleName":"","lastName":"Boano","suffix":""},{"id":319774067,"identity":"52a596df-2e2b-42f1-9f47-82e78d0bd0f2","order_by":1,"name":"Elisa Fiore Marochetti","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ministero della Cultura - Soprintenendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la Città Metropolitana di Torino","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elisa","middleName":"Fiore","lastName":"Marochetti","suffix":""},{"id":319774068,"identity":"53e68fab-a897-4ab5-bacc-e8f2f032c26b","order_by":2,"name":"Gianluigi Mangiapane","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of Turin","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gianluigi","middleName":"","lastName":"Mangiapane","suffix":""},{"id":319774069,"identity":"b2abcfe8-46a4-4551-92bd-eaa9855b76a6","order_by":3,"name":"Michael W. 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