Resignation offers hope that mummy may stay in Cork

THE case for repatriation of an Egyptian mummy from its current resting place in Cork city has lost one of its most vocal supporters after he stood down as head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Antiquities.

Zahi Hawass, the world’s foremost authority on ancient Egypt, has previously spoken in favour of returning the mummy to North Africa.

However, he resigned in July, sparking hopes that the ancient remains may be allowed rest in peace as part of the Boole Library Collection at University College Cork (UCC).

In 2002, Mr Hawass was quoted as saying: “This mummy is coming home.”

In a newspaper article, Mr Hawass said: “I was in Ireland on a lecture tour in October last year and I had talks with senior staff at UCC. They agreed to let us take Osiris [the mummy’s name] home where he belongs, to the sun and shifting sands of Egypt.”

However Mr Hawass’s resignation might work in Ireland’s favour.

Mystery surrounds how the mummy came to UCC.

By 1910, it was illegal to export mummified remains from Egypt, which may explain why there is no record of its delivery to the college.

The mummy is part of a number of artifacts retained by the college from collections amassed when it was Queen’s College Cork (1845 to 1908).

A spokeswoman said the mummy was acquired in the late 19th or very early 20th century by the college and dates to around 305 BC.

The date puts the mummy into the Ptolemaic period, when Egypt was part of a Greek kingdom centred on the eastern Mediterranean.

The college said there is no inscription naming the man but scholarly analysis suggests he would have belonged to the upper echelons of society.

Research conducted by Helen Moloney Davis discovered that the coffin came from Thebes.

The mummy is 1 metre and 69cm long and weighs 24.2kg. X-rays reveal the mummy was a well-built, fully grown male.

The mummy’s coffin dates to around 625 to 600 BC and bears an inscription of a man called Hor whose title was lotus-beater.

However, the mummy itself can be dated back to the Ptolemaic Roman period 305 BC to 500 AD.

Ms Moloney Davis said it is apparent the mummy and the coffin do not belong together.

Ultimately, what becomes of the mummy will depend on the discussions taking place between the Egyptian embassy and UCC.

The Grand Egyptian Museum, also known as the Giza Museum, is planned to contain artifacts of ancient Egypt.

It is scheduled to open in 2013 — and the hunt is on for treasures to fill it up.

It is understood that experts are being drafted in over the coming weeks to assess the mummy and an arrangement will have to be reached with UCC and the Egyptian authorities.