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Greek (?) 
mummy. 
Greek child. 
in an extraordinarily good state of preservation. The microscopical appearances were 
identical with those of the skin of the chest and mamma which have just been described; 
the horny layer had completely disappeared. 
Tke skin of a Greek mummy < dating from about 800 to 400 B. C. was fairly soft. 
After lying in Alexandria for some months it became soapy to the touch and was easily 
dissected from the underlying tissues. Histologically, its structure was similar to that 
of the skin of the chest and mamma? of the XXIst dynasty. 
I had an opportunity also of examining the skin of a Roman child which had been Roman child. 
buried in the sand. The face was gilded but no incision was found, and all the 
organs, including the brain, were in situ. The skin was rather soapy to the touch, soft 
and pliable, and large pieces of it were stripped off. Its microscopical structure was 
identical with that of mummies of the XXIst dynasty. 
I also examined the skin of a child probably belonging to the Greek period. This 
had been buried in the sand but there was absolutely no sign that it had ever been 
touched by the embalmer. The skin was fairly soft and dry. The whole of the epidermis 
of the soles of the feet and toes was almost completely detached so that it could easily 
be removed with a forceps. Microscopically the epidermic cells were plainly seen, but 
the sections of the skin were not very satisfactory. 
The skins of several heads which had been buried in the sand at .Mellawi were 
well preserved, and so dry that in spite of a prolonged stay in the softening solution, 
they never swelled up to a great extent. The hairs and follicles were easily seen. The 
epidermic cells of the scalp had not been shed and were represented by a thin darkly 
staining fringe. The date at which these people lived is uncertain, though the bodies 
were certainly more than two thousand years old. 
From the appearance of the skin, I conclude that most probably putrefaction had 
not gone very far before the bodies were either buried in the sand or steeped in the 
pickling solution. With the onset of putrefaction the epidermis is raised and ultimately 
falls off. This process starts in the regions nearest the abdominal cavity, viz : the 
abdominal walls, the skin of the chest and back, and shows itself last near the extre- 
mities i. e. toes and fingers. 
Considering that the epidermic cells had disappeared on the chest, it is possible 
that putrefaction had just started before burial, or before the bodies were placed in the 
natron solution. It was certainly not very far advanced as no microorganisms were seen. 
The observation of Prof. Elliot Smith to the effect that in some mummies each 
nail was securely tied to the finger, seems to show that the epithelium was often shed in 
the «natron» solution and that this had some caustic property. On the other hand, the 
fact that the skin including the epidermis of certain bodies was almost normal shows 
that the « natron » solution can not always have had a very powerful macerating effect. 
Remarks 
' This mummy was given me by Ihe Museum authorities. T was told that it belonged to the Greel< 
period but it was prepared exactly the same way as the mummies of the XXIst dynasty. Its limbs had not 
been packed in any way. The body was undoubtedly that of an Egyptian. 
