Egyptian Mummy's Hairstyle Makes a Comeback

MONTREAL, CANADA—CT scans of the mummy of a young woman in McGill University’s Redpath Museum have allowed researchers to recreate a hairstyle that was popular in Roman-ruled Egypt, nearly 2,000 years ago. “The mummy's hair is readily appreciable,” wrote the team in a recently published paper, “with longer strands at the middle of the scalp drawn back into twists or plaits that were then wound into a tutulus, or chignon at the vertex (crown) of the head.” The researchers also studied two other Egyptian mummies from the museum, one of an older woman who lived at the same time as the well-coiffed mummy, and the other of a young man who lived a few centuries earlier. Both had severe dental problems.