Volume 23
May 2018 Edition
“The novelty of this work is in demonstrating that nuclear DNA can now be recovered from the worst of the worst specimens –
Egyptian mummies, in this case,” said Dr. Irwin. “If successful, these methods could become part of FBI’s routine DNA casework.”
4,000 Year-Old Mummy Key to New
Forensic Nuclear DNA Technologies
An Ancient Mystery
The mystery has plagued scientists for more than a
hundred years, until the Department of Homeland Se-
In 1915, when American explorers entered an curity (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
recently used advanced DNA sequencing technology
ancient tomb cut in the parched limestone cliffs to help confirm the identity.
of the eastern bank of the Nile River, 155 miles
south of Cairo, they were greeted by the disem- Although looters had long since ransacked the tomb of any
bodied head of a 4,000-year-old mummy.
precious metal treasures, the tomb did contain historical
But whose head was it?
and archeological treasures including a collection of funer-
ary artifacts and two intricately painted cedar coffins. 30