|
KARACHI The mummy of an ancient princess
discovered in Pakistan last week was shown to
the media on Thursday. But experts
remain uncertain about the origin and age of
the mummy, found in the city of Quetta in
western Baluchistan Province.
The mummy was recovered from the house of
Sardar Wali Mohammad Reeki, a Pakistani
citizen now in police custody. "The mummy
could be Egyptian or Iranian origin but it is
not clear how it reached Pakistan,"
archaeology Professor Ahmed Dani said.The
style is Egyptian but the script was not
Egyptian but cuneiform, which was used by some
ancient Iranian rulers, Dani said. He said
full "details could only be obtained
after chemical examination and deciphering the
script".
Police became involved in the case when a
tribal chieftain in Baluchistan reportedly
tried to sell the mummy through intermediaries
for more than one million dollars.
Initial
reports said it was originally found by an
Iranian in the debris of an earthquake in the
province's Kharan district. Pakistani experts
believe the mummy was that of a Persian
princess of 18 years of age belonging to
Achaemenid Dynasty dating back to 600 B.C. The
mummy was in a wooden sarcophagus which had an
engraving of Ahura Mazda, the supreme
Zoroastrian deity of Persia, alongside the
cuneiform script.
The mummy is being kept at the National Museum
in Karachi where special security arrangements
are in force.
|
