Current Events > External Genital Organs in Male Mummies from Qurna, Egypt

(+) Yeah! (+)

The external genital organs were examined in 18 ancient Egyptian male mummies from the Tombs Nos. 317 and 178 at Qurna, Egypt, dating from the 18th Dynasty of New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic stage of the Graeco-Roman period. The penises were kept intact in only three out of 11 adult (27.3%) and in two out of three child mummies (66.7%). The observations showed that the ritual of circumcision in boys at puberty was widely prevalent in the ancient Egypt. The penises were totally or partially cut off in five adult mummies. A model of the penis and scrotum made of resin gilded was laid just below the true external genital organs kept intact in an adult mummy. The penises were elongated in three adult and one child mummies. The elongated penises were often supported or covered with the scrotum deformed. It was suggested that the treatment of the external male genital organs with special care and attention in the mummification process might be derived from the tales of Osiris's body reconstituted by Isis in the Egyptian mythology.