Friday, May 30, 2008

Mummy update


Egypt planning DNA test for 3,500-year-old mummy
Egypt plans to conduct a DNA test on a 3,500-year-old mummy to determine if it is King Thutmose I, one of the most important pharaohs, the country's chief archaeologist said Thursday.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities chief, said the DNA test and an X-ray will be carried out on a mummy found at the site of ancient Thebes on the west bank of the Nile, what is today Luxor's Valley of the Kings, the Middle East News Agency reported.

Hawass said a mummy on display in the Egyptian Museum that was purported for many years to be Thutmose I was not actually the ancient ruler's remains.


With their new lab up and running there ought to be a whole slough of data coming in the near future. A lot of people have been pushing for extensive DNA testing of extant mummies for quite a while in order to sort out the various lineages and identities of the mummies.