Youngest-ever mummified foetus from Ancient Egypt discovered in tiny coffin. More here: https://t.co/saIvKnWHe4pic.twitter.com/5KySzV99zv
— Rembrandt's Room (@RembrandtsRoom) May 11, 2016
New scans revealed that a miniature Egyptian coffin held an 18-week-old fetus, the youngest such corpse ever discovered, according to the Guardian.
The coffin, said to be from 600 BC, has been in the possession of Britain's Fitzwilliam Museum since 1907, but was only recently given a CT scan.
It was previously assumed that the coffin contained body parts, not an entire being, but what researchers found was a very small body, with recognizable hands, legs, feet, and a collapsed skull. The arms had been crossed, a sign, according to the Guardian, of the body's importance.
Researchers at the museum suspect the fetus was the result of a miscarriage; it is much younger than two other fetuses previously found in coffins, one 25 weeks old and the other 37 weeks, both from the tomb of Tutankhamen.