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by Rosalie David (Editor), Eileen Murphy (Editor)
The mummy of Takabuti is one of the best known antiquities in the Ulster Museum, Belfast. Takabuti was a young woman who lived in Egypt during a tumultuous period, c. 600 BC. Her mummy was unwrapped and investigated in Belfast in 1835. While the focus of the book is on Takabuti, it shows how the combination of archaeological, historical and inscriptional evidence with multidisciplinary scientific techniques can enable researchers to gain a wealth of information about ancient Egypt. This not only relates to the individual historical context, ancestry and life events associated with Takabuti, but also to wider issues of health and disease patterns, lifestyle, diet, and religious and funerary customs in ancient Egypt.
This multi-authored book demonstrates how researchers act as 'forensic detectives' piecing together a picture of the life and times of Takabuti. Questions addressed include - Who was Takabuti? When did she live? Where did she come from and where did she reside? What did she eat, and did she suffer from any diseases? Did she suffer a violent death, and how was she mummified and prepared for burial?
Author Biography
Professor Rosalie David is an Egyptologist at The University of Manchester where she is also Co-Director of the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology. She has established biomedical research in Egyptology as a new university specialisation, and in 2003, was awarded an OBE for services to Egyptology.
Professor Eileen Murphy is a bioarchaeologist based in Queen's University Belfast where she is also Co-Director of the Centre for Community Archaeology. Her research largely involves the study of burial practices and human skeletal remains from Ireland and Russia. She has had a long standing fascination with Takabuti since first visiting her in the Ulster Museum as a young child.
