Discovery Unfolds
In October 2000, an alleged Persian princess mummy surfaced in Pakistani Baluchistan. This find emerged during a murder investigation. Authorities received a tip about a videotape from Ali Aqbar, claiming to sell a mummy. He directed them to Wali Mohammed Reeki’s home in Kharan. Reeki acquired the mummy from an Iranian who found it post-earthquake near Quetta. They listed it for sale on the black antiquities market for 600 million rupees (about $11 million). Authorities charged Reeki and Aqbar under the Antiquities Act, facing up to ten years in prison.
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Misidentification and Mystery
At a press conference on October 26, Pakistani archaeologist Ahmad Hasan Dani introduced the mummy as a princess from around 600 BC. She lay in an Egyptian-style wrapped state within a gilded wooden coffin, inside a stone sarcophagus. The sarcophagus boasted a faravahar image and a golden crown on the mummy’s head. A golden chest plate named her Rhodogune, purportedly a daughter of King Xerxes I from the Achaemenid dynasty. Dani hypothesized she might be an Egyptian princess who married into Persian royalty.
Early Suspicions Arise
When news broke about the Persian Princess, American archaeologist Oscar White Muscarella recalled a similar case from the previous March. A middleman named Amanollah Riggi, representing an unidentified antiquities dealer in Pakistan, approached him with photographs of a mummy. He claimed it belonged to a Zoroastrian family who had brought it into the country, asserting it was a daughter of Xerxes, based on cuneiform inscriptions on the breastplate.
Analyzing the Cuneiform Text
The inscriptions on the breastplate referenced the Behistun inscription from western Iran, dating back to the reign of Darius, Xerxes’ father. Doubts arose when a piece of the coffin, sent for carbon dating, turned out to be only about 250 years old. Muscarella suspected a forgery immediately and cut off contact, notifying Interpol through the FBI.
The Curator’s Findings
Asma Ibrahim, the curator at the National Museum of Pakistan, inspected the mummy while it was in police custody. She noted the body showed signs of decomposition, such as fungal growth on the face, indicating it was of recent origin. The mat beneath the body was roughly five years old, suggesting recent placement. During this period, both Iran and the Taliban reiterated their claims on the mummy, with the Taliban even claiming to have caught the smugglers who had removed it from Afghanistan.
Medical Analysis Reveals More
Medical examinations, including CAT and X-ray scans conducted at Agha Khan Hospital, revealed that the mummification didn’t follow ancient Egyptian traditions. For instance, the heart and other internal organs were removed, contrary to the practice of leaving the heart inside. Additionally, tendons that should have decayed were still intact.
Ibrahim’s Conclusive Report
On April 17, 2001, Ibrahim released her report, revealing that the so-called Persian princess was actually a young woman, aged 21-25, who had likely died around 1996, possibly from blunt force trauma to the lower back or pelvic area. Accelerator mass spectrometry later confirmed the mummy as a modern forgery. Post-mortem examinations showed that her teeth had been extracted, and her hip, pelvis, and spine had been damaged before the body was filled with powder. The police initiated a murder investigation, leading to several arrests in Baluchistan.
It seems the body was either a recent murder victim or was taken from a grave soon after death—both disturbing possibilities that have led scientists to search for clues to her real identity.
The Mummy’s Final Resting Place
The Edhi Foundation assumed custody of the body. They announced plans for a proper burial on August 5, 2005. Unfortunately, repeated requests to government officials received no response. Finally, in 2008, the foundation managed to conduct the burial, providing a dignified end to a saga marked by intrigue and forensic investigation.
As of today, the “Persian Princess” has yet to be identified.
Sources:
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