The mummy ‘Princess of Persia’: The scam of the century

A mummy believed to be the ‘Princess of Persia’ has caused disputes over ownership and diplomatic troubles.

Archaeologists examine the mummy. Everyone thinks this is an “unprecedented” archaeological find, but the truth is just a sophisticated scam. Shocking discovery In October 2000, police in Karachi, Pakistan received a tip that a man named Ali Akbar was selling a mummy for 600 million rupees, or about $11 million. According to the source, it was not an ordinary mummy, but “Princess of Persia”. Immediately, the police raided Akbar’s house, searched and questioned the suspect. Akbar then took the police to the home of his accomplice, Wali Mohammad Reeki, in the desert region of Baluchistan province. Here, the mummy in question along with the coffin was found. Reeki admitted to buying the artifact from a man named Sharif Shah Bakhi. This person told him that the body was discovered after an earthquake near Quetta, on the border between Iran and Afghanistan. Two men are arrested for smuggling antiquities, but the mystery of the mummy has only just begun. If it is true “Princess of Persia”, this will be a very important discovery, because no mummies of the Persians (present-day Iran) have been found. The mummy was brought to the National Museum in Karachi for experts to analyze and many mysteries surrounding this ancient man were revealed. The body was mummified in the Egyptian style, with a mask and a golden crown, placed on a reed mat. But the most interesting find was a breastplate covering the mummy’s chest, on which the ancient Persian inscription, “I am the daughter of the great king Xerxes. Mazereka protects me. I am Rhodugune.” In addition, the gilded wooden coffin is also decorated with carved lines also in ancient Persian letters. It all seems to show that this is indeed the Princess of Persia. Pakistani archaeologist, Ahmad Hasan Dani, of Islamabad’s Quaid-e-Azam University, excitedly announced in a press conference that, from what was recorded, the mummy was indeed a Ba princess. Tu, lived around 600 BC. This event sparked a dispute between Iran and Pakistan over the ownership of this unprecedented archaeological find. The Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization declared the “princess” to be a member of the royal family of Persia and demanded that Pakistan return the mummy, and even the Taliban movement in Afghanistan claimed it was their own artifact. Unexpected truth Mummy “Princess of Persia” in coffin. The fierce arguments between the parties have become a political problem, easily leading to conflicts. Meanwhile, some other archaeologists have raised doubts that this is the “Princess of Persia”, even a mummy. An independent examination was conducted and the archaeologists went from surprise to surprise. First of all, ancient linguists found that the writing on the mummy’s breast shield and the coffin was written by someone who was not fluent in the ancient Persian language, rife with grammatical errors, and even traces of pencil marks for inscriptions, which pencils were only invented in the 16th century. In addition, a piece of coffin was examined, it was only about 250 years old, and the carpet underneath the body was discovered to be only… 5 years old. Unusual signs were also found in the body of the “princess”, such as the delicate tendons and ligaments of the middle ear that were still intact, despite thousands of years and the mummification process. did not follow the strict methods of Egypt. For example, the heart was removed, which the Egyptians never did, as it was considered important to regenerate a person’s body when they went to the next world. Multiple CAT scans (computerized axial tomography), accelerated mass spectrometry dating, radiocarbon testing, and X-ray scans all proved this to be a hoax. delicate. In the end, scientists determined, there is no “Princess of Persia”, but this is the body of a 16-year-old girl, who may have died in 1996, not 600 BC. Not only that, there is evidence that the girl was murdered for this fraudulent purpose. Experts also discovered that the “mummy” had died from trauma caused by the force of the impact, which broke her cervical and back vertebrae. Her organs were removed, her body cavity filled with table salt and baking soda, a fake embalming process. All of this was likely done within 24 hours of her death. From an antiquities smuggling case to a murder case. It is said that a group of fake antiquities traders brutally killed this poor girl, or at least stole her body shortly after her death, to be processed into a donkey mummy. sell for money. However, although the police questioned everyone involved in the sale of the mummy, as well as several other suspects, it led to nothing. In the end, not only was no one arrested in connection with this young woman’s death, but the victim was also not identified. She languished in museums for a while, before being buried in 2008 by the Pakistan-based charity Edhi Foundation. Although she was finally laid to rest, she remained anonymous, unclaimed, and the cause of death was not clear, forever referred to simply as “Princess of Persia”.