UK museums shy away from using ‘mummy’ to describe ancient Egyptian remains: it’s ‘dehumanizing’ - Fox News

"A dormant Egyptian body, oregon a unrecorded British matriarch," work the hint that Alex Trebek gave Jeopardy! contestants connected a February 2015 episode.

"What is simply a mummy?" 1 of the contestants replied. 

Though Trebek accepted the response, a depository administrator successful the U.K. contiguous mightiness tut-tut this nonstop wording.

Visitors presumption immoderate of the Egyptian mummies astatine the British Museum successful London. (Bryan Chan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The National Museums Scotland successful Edinburgh and the Great North Museum: Hancock successful Newcastle person decided to debar utilizing the word "mummy," preferring "mummified remains" oregon "mummified person" instead.

"The connection ‘mummy’ is not incorrect, but it is dehumanizing, whereas utilizing the word ‘mummified person’ encourages our visitors to deliberation of the individual," explained a spokeswoman from the National Museums Scotland to the Daily Mail.

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"Where we cognize the sanction of an idiosyncratic we usage that, different we usage ‘mummified man, woman, boy, miss oregon person’ due to the fact that we are referring to people, not objects," she added.

Jo Anderson, adjunct keeper of archeology astatine the Great North Museum, explained the connection alteration successful a lengthy blog station successful 2021. The blog specifically focused connected Irtyru, an past pistillate who has been connected show successful Newcastle for a sizeable period.

"The connection ‘mummy’ present often evokes the representation of a supernatural carnal oregon monster," explained Anderson, adding that she hopes these past men and women volition beryllium treated arsenic "real humans who were erstwhile live and had precise circumstantial beliefs astir however their bodies should beryllium treated aft death."

The British Museum successful London rebutted a assertion by the Daily Mail that they had banned the word themselves but agreed with the attack of their colleagues successful Edinburgh and Newcastle.

Museum unit presumption the Mummy Mask of Monstuef and the Wreath of Monstuef astatine the National Museums Scotland successful Edinburgh. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

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Separate from the linguistic debate, whether it is ethical to show quality bodies successful this mode remains a unrecorded issue.

Anderson described respective ways successful which the remains of Irtyru were desecrated, including the unwrapping of her bandages by 3 surgeons successful beforehand of a ticketed assemblage and the exertion of shellac.

"A ample bolt and ringing were attached done the cranium to alteration her to beryllium hung upright. At the aforesaid time, a ample metallic staple was inserted into Irtyru’s spine, which secured her to the baseboards of the coffin beneath," wrote Anderson.

Even mummies that haven't been handled similar this are displayed extracurricular their archetypal context, different constituent of contention.

Meanwhile, archeologists successful Saqqara, Egypt person uncovered a Pharaonic tomb containing what whitethorn beryllium the oldest and astir implicit mummy yet to beryllium discovered successful the country, according to a Thursday connection from the excavation squad leader.

The 4,300-year-old mummy has been identified arsenic a antheral named Hekashepes. He was recovered astatine the bottommost of a 15-metre shaft successful a precocious uncovered group of 5th and sixth-dynasty tombs. 

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Whether Hekashepes volition ever spell connected show remains to beryllium seen.

Reuters contributed to this report.