CT scans of an Egyptian mummy from approximately 1,200 BC have exposed a type of mortuary treatment which has not been documented in the Egyptian archaeological record before now. The individual is the first known case of an ancient Egyptian ‘mud mummy’ and its existence has led archaeologists to reconsider their beliefs about how nonroyal ancient Egyptians preserved their deceased loved ones.

Karin Sowada from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia led the analysis of the unnamed mummified adult and is the lead author in the new study published in the journal PLOS ONE . The researchers write in their paper that their scan shows the individual was “fully sheathed in a mud shell or carapace.”

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