Egyptian Mummy

Wooden coffin with mummy inside wearing cartonnage trappings, coffin lid and fragment of lid. This mummy is of an Egyptian man named Pahat, and dates to the Ptolemaic period (332-30B.C.) when Egypt was under the rule of Greece. Hieroglyphs on the exterior of the coffin reveal that Pahat served as a Sem priest, a position that included clothing the cult statue of the temple. In 1984 the mummy underwent a CT scan, which revealed that Pahat was probably the victim of grave robbers. Torn cloth around the neck and broken toes suggest that the robbers stole the amulets and golden foot coverings buried with the deceased priest. Pahat was a priest of Min, the Egyptian god of male virility, who was also the god of rain. Min became very popular ca. 1000 BC, and orgiastic festivals were held in his honor. Min is shown on Pahat's coffin with one arm raised wielding a thunderbolt, while grasping his phallus in his other hand.