3,000-year-old talking mummy creates dispute in Egypt
Egyptians are arguing among themselves on a new study that has recreated the voice of a 3,000-year-old mummified Egyptian priest.
CAIRO — The voice of a 3,000-year-old mummified Egyptian priest, recreated by researchers at the Royal Holloway University of London, has created an echo in Egypt’s parliament. A parliamentarian accused Egyptian scientists and archaeologists of just standing by and watching as other countries made discoveries on Pharaonic civilizations.
Parliamentarian Shereen Farrag criticized the ministries of Archaeology and Education for not making similar discoveries.
"While European scientists are revealing the secrets of Pharaonic Egypt from a single Egyptian mummy, Egyptian scientists and authorities, who are in possession of hundreds of mummies, are [late] in the discovery of the secrets of our own ancient civilization," she said in a March 3 statement.
Farrag told Al-Monitor that the two ministries are not interested in conducting scientific experiments on mummies. “They just promote discoveries and display them in museums," she said. "Meanwhile, foreign universities and research centers conduct ongoing experiments on the antiques to reveal more secrets about the Pharaonic civilization. They are the ones who make use of new technological applications to give a more accurate image of the lives of Pharaohs, including the voices of these symbols.”
