The Zagreb Mummy and the Zagreb Linen Book

The Zagreb Mummy is an Egyptian mummy exhibited at the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb. Before coming to Zagreb, it was privately owned by Mihael Barić, who bought it in Egypt in the middle of the 19th century. After his death, the mummy was donated to the National Museum in Zagreb. Although the mummification process served to preserve the body, the body of this mummy had to be saved from accelerated decay, and a successful restoration operation was performed by Dr. Nazzareno Gabrielli in 1998.

The method of determining the age using radioactive carbon (C14) determined that the mummy is from approximately 390 BC. It is the body of a woman who died between the age of 30 and 40. The mummy was wrapped in linen bandages, and with it were grave goods and papyrus with text in hieratic and hieroglyphic script addressed to the Paher-Khonsa and his wife Nesi-Khonsa, but it is impossible to confirm that the papyrus belongs to this mummy. Her linen bandages are known today as the Zagreb Linen Book.

The Zagreb linen book is 340 cm long and contains over 1100 words in the Etruscan language, which makes it the longest preserved manuscript in this language and the only preserved ancient linen book. The text probably speaks of Etruscan religious rites and mentions several Etruscan gods. The relation of the mummy and the Etruscans and their funeral rituals is still unclear.

Find out more: