By Pat Anson

The ancient Egyptians were well practiced in using natural substances as medicine. Opium was used as an analgesic and to help people sleep. Willow tree bark (later used to develop aspirin) was used as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Extracts from carob trees were used as antidepressants. And they rubbed moldy bread on infected wounds centuries before penicillin was discovered.

“The range of conditions treated and the various conservative and surgical treatments used are astounding,” a German oncologist wrote after spending a year studying the history of Egyptian medicine.

But those ancient remedies failed when it came to treating a middle-aged Egyptian woman who apparently died in agony 3,000 years ago. Her mummy was discovered in 1935 and soon became known as the “Screaming Woman” because her mouth was wide open, as if locked in a permanent scream.

Only recently have researchers used CT scans and other advanced imaging techniques to “virtually dissect” her body and learn more about her life and death. Their findings were recently published in Frontiers in Medicine.

“The Screaming Woman is a true ‘time capsule’ of the way that she died and was mummified,” said lead author Sahar Saleem, MD, a professor of radiology at Kasr Al Ainy Hospital of Cairo University.

Saleem and her colleagues estimate the woman was about 48 years old at the time of her death and suffered from mild arthritis of the spine.

Her body was unwrapped and in good condition – for a mummy – laying on her back, with her legs extended and her hands folded over her groin, with no obvious sign of injury or trauma.

Unlike other mummies, the woman still had all of her internal organs, including the brain, heart, lungs and kidneys, which are normally removed during the embalming process. She was missing several teeth, which were apparently removed before her death because her mouth had time to heal.

“Teeth lost during life may have been extracted. Dentistry had originated in ancient Egypt, with Hesy Re the first recorded physician and dentist in the world,” said Saleem.

Access to a dentist and the fact that the woman was embalmed in juniper and frankincense -- costly materials that were imported -- suggest she came from a wealthy family. She was wearing two gold and silver rings when her coffin was found and had a lengthy wig made from palm fibers. 

Researchers were unable to determine a cause of death, but speculate that she died during extreme physical or emotional pain that made her scream. Rigor mortis may have quickly set in after her death, locking her facial muscles and ligaments in place.

“The mummy's screaming facial expression in this study could be read as a cadaveric spasm, implying that the woman died screaming from agony or pain,” said Saleem.

Cadaveric spasm is a rare form of muscular stiffening, typically associated with violent deaths under extreme physical conditions and intense emotion. Other academics might dispute that interpretation, because decomposition or embalming could also alter a body’s facial expression.

“The true history or circumstances of the death of the woman… are unknown; hence, the cause of her screaming facial appearance cannot be established with certainty,” researcher concluded.