Roman Period human mummy
- Gallery: Room 62
- Culture: Roman Period
- Date: 230-250 (circa)
- Object type: human mummy, burial-cloth, coffin
- Materials: human tissue; linen; wood
- Museum number: EA6715
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a mummy from the Roman Period, a young boy aged between 2 and 5 years. The mummified remains are carefully wrapped in a painted linen shroud and placed inside a beautifully decorated wooden coffin. You can see the boy’s head tilted slightly forward, with his arms extended and hands positioned gently on his thighs. The body is remarkably well-preserved, with soft tissues still visible.
The shroud is painted in tempera, showing the boy wearing a himation and white sandals. His red-painted hair features white spots and four black tufts at the front—perhaps reflecting a special burial tradition. In his left hand, he holds a bunch of laurel leaves, and his right hand is raised.
The coffin is richly decorated with images of the goddess Nut on the base and a floral garland with a snake motif on the lid. This artwork offers a rare glimpse into burial customs in Roman Egypt, blending traditional Egyptian elements with artistic traditions from that era.
See it in person
Roman Period human mummy is on display in Room 62 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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