The Fifth Mummy

The Fifth Mummy - more

The Fifth Mummy

The so-called “Fifth Mummy” of an anonymous female person is the gift of the Zagreb bishop Juraj Haulik to the Land’s Museum in the 19th century. The mummy was stored in the museum’s depot for years, and was exhibited to the public for the first time within the small 2010 exhibition The Secrets of Egyptian Mummies.

She was deposited in a sarcophagus which was immediately recognised as non-authentic and made most likely during the so-called period of “Egypt-mania” - a European movement of the 19th century. At that time, thanks to the fascination with Egypt, when making furniture, building and even in the making of sarcophagi and tombs, the products of ancient Egyptian art were imitated.

To exclude all possibility of doubt concerning the authenticity of the mummy and the unusual appearance of the sarcophagus, a C14 testing was carried out. This technique dated the mummy back to the 4th century BC, proving thus that the mummy placed in that sarcophagus was authentic.