The lost mummy of Djedhor

In the rich archives of the Leiden Museum of Antiquities lies a fascinating manuscript dealing with the autopsy on an Ancient Egyptian mummy. This was performed in 1878 by the Museums curator Willem Pleyte. Thanks to Pleytes detailed procs-verbal, the mummy (which did not survive the dissection) can be reconstructed at least on paper. The name of the deceased has been inscribed on the mummys cartonnage, on some of the linen bandages, and on the Book of the Dead papyrus retrieved by Pleyte from the mummy wrappings. Several other items had been slipped between the wrappings, such as an amuletic necklace and various pieces of funerary jewellery. Together with textile samples of the diverse shrouds and bandages, all these finds have been preserved in the Museums reserves. This rich documentation allows us to recognize this assemblage as the remains of an elite burial in Ptolemaic Thebes. The texts identify its owner as a priest called Djedhor, the son of Neferibre and Takerheb. Comparable mummies and funerary objects in other museums in Europe, Egypt and the United States help to interpret the various items found on Djedhors mummy. Moreover, we can thereby visualise the additional material once present in the tomb, such as the mummys coffins, canopic chest, stela, and Ptah-Sokar-Osiris statue. Finally, the common acquisition history of all these items points to the original location of Djedhors tomb and suggests through whose hands his remains must have passed on their way to Leiden.