Museum Sending 5,000-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy to Be Overhauled
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LONDON — A 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummy, known as Ginger for the color of his hair, has been taken off display in the British Museum and sent for overhaul for the first time since 1900.
The museum said last week that Ginger’s naturally mummified body has been replaced temporarily by a female mummy of the same age and place, already nicknamed Gingerella.
Ginger normally lies doubled up in a shallow grave just as he was discovered at Gebelein at the end of the 19th Century. He is one of the museum’s most popular exhibits and children cluster round his glass case all through the day.
“Over the years, the London air has proved less friendly to Ginger than the sands of Egypt and conservation work has become necessary,” said museum spokesman Andrew Hamilton.
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