Why a Manchester museum has removed its last mummy from display
Manchester Museum has removed the 2,700-year-old mummified remains of an Egyptian woman named Asru from public display. The decision follows consultations with Egyptian colleagues and the diaspora, aiming to respect the cultural and religious wishes of the deceased.
Why it matters
This reflects a broader shift in museum ethics regarding the display of human remains and the decolonization of historical collections.
Image source, Manchester Museum Image caption, The mummified body of the woman named Asru has been placed back in its coffin
The mummified body of an ancient Egyptian woman has been removed from a museum exhibition after more than 200 years on display as part of efforts to respect "the wishes of the dead", curators have said.
Layers of linen were carefully peeled away from the 2,700-year-old remains of the woman named Asru when she was first taken out of her wooden coffin and put on public display in Manchester in 1825.
Centuries later, her remains have been placed in storage in a decision that "aligns most closely with what we understand about her own wishes", a Manchester Museum spokesman said.
"Elite Egyptians of her time expected that their mummified bodies would remain wrapped in their coffins, invisible to the living," he added.
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