Mummy Shroud

A unique, full-length mummy shroud, which is over 2,000 years old yet is still in remarkable condition, has been discovered in National Museums Scotland’s collections.

The shroud, which dates to approximately 9 BC, was discovered by curators during an in-depth assessment of National Museums Scotland’s internationally significant ancient Egyptian collections in preparation for a new, permanent ancient Egypt gallery which will open at the Museum in 2018/19. 

Dr Margaret Maitland, Senior Curator of Ancient Mediterranean collections found the folded shroud wrapped in brown parcel paper, with a note written by a past curator in a Second World War service envelope identifying the contents as having come from an ancient Egyptian tomb. The package had been stored since the mid-1940s.

Due to the fragility of the ancient textile, conservators gently humidified it so that the fibres would become less dry and brittle. This allowed them to carefully unfold the shroud, a process which took almost 24 hours. Upon unfolding it, a hieroglyphic inscription on the shroud revealed the identity of the owner to be the previously unknown son of the Roman-era high-official Montsuef and his wife Tanuat.

Above: The shroud is removed from its package by conservators at National Museums Scotland.

In ancient Egypt, following mummification, a shroud was commonly wrapped around the body before it was placed in a coffin. In Roman-era Egypt, shrouds became increasingly important as the use of coffins became rarer.

Above: The shroud undergoing conservation at National Museums Scotland.

This full-length, painted linen shroud is unique, with very few parallels from its period. It depicts the deceased as the god Osiris. Because of its owner’s direct relationship to Montsuef and Tanuat, whose deaths were recorded to have occurred in 9 BC, it is possible to date the shroud relatively precisely, which is extraordinary for such an ancient artefact. 

The shroud comes from a Roman-era burial in a tomb originally built around 1290 BC opposite the great city of Thebes (modern-day Luxor). First built for a chief of police and his wife, it was looted and reused several times, before being sealed in the early 1st century AD.

It was undisturbed until its excavation in the 19th century when a collection of beautiful objects from various eras was discovered. The shroud is one of a number of objects from this tomb which are in National Museums Scotland’s collections. Many of these objects, including the shroud, were displayed in the exhibition The Tomb: Ancient Egyptian Burial, which told of this tomb across 1,000 years of use. Due to its fragile nature and light sensitivity, the shroud is not currently on display.