Abnormal appearance
In the world, the most famous civilization with mummification culture is Egypt – a North African country 3763km from Pakistan. Then there is China (the mummy of Xinjiang), the Philippines (the mummy of Kabayan), Mexico (the mummy of Guanajuato)… Iran, a neighboring country of Pakistan, also has mummies. Those are 8 salted mummies discovered in the Douzlakh salt mine at Chehr Abad. However, those are naturally mummified bodies (by ancient people accidentally lying dead at this site) and not by humans.
Illustration of the princess of Persia
But in the first year of the third millennium, Pakistan announced the discovery of a 2,600-year-old mummy in Kharan, Balochistan, a province bordering Iran. They reported that after an earthquake, resident Sharif Shah Bakhi (Pakistan of Iranian origin) accidentally found a coffin exposed in the landslide. He curiously opened it and was amazed, because inside was a mummy.
Immediately, Bakhi handed over this mummy to a black market trader named Wali Mohammed Reeki (Pakistan). Reeki hired Ali Akbar (Pakistan) to shoot the video and put it up for sale on an illegal online site, for $11 million.
In October 2000, Pakistani authorities discovered this mummy for sale and arrested Akbar. Based on his testimony, they go to Reeki and Bakhi’s whereabouts, confirming there is a mummy in Reeki’s house.
Originally, Pakistanis did not have the custom of mummification. The sudden appearance of a mummy in the water has shocked the archaeologists. After the mummy was taken to the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi, researchers quickly began dating. They claim the body, which was mummified 2,600 years ago, is the remains of Princess Rhodugune – daughter of the Persian king Xerxes I (591 – 465 BC).
Pakistan follows the culture of burial, establishing a mausoleum or memorial tombstone
According to speculation by Pakistani scholars, Rhodugune may have been politically engaged to an Egyptian prince. Therefore, after her death, she was buried according to the beliefs of her husband’s family. They also hypothesized that Rhodugune was a political hostage. She was originally from Egypt, so when she died, she was mummified as a way to pay respects.
Arousing fierce competition
Before the appearance of the mummy of Princess Rhodugune, not only Pakistan but the whole world was shocked. UNESCO also expressed deep concern. The government of Pakistan is extremely proud, considering it the most important archaeological find of the turn of the century.
When news of the “Princess of Persia” spread, the Iranian government suddenly demanded that Pakistan return the mummy to it. They argued that the Persian Dynasty was part of Iran’s founding history, so the mummy of the Persian Princess also necessarily belonged to Iran.
Of course, Pakistan immediately refused. Iran did not give up, drafted a lawsuit against Pakistan to UNESCO. While these two countries have not yet resolved their dispute, the Taliban (Afghanistan) has jumped in the middle. They pulled out a smuggler, accused him of selling “Persian Princess” to Bakhi, demanding that Pakistan bring Rhodugune to Afghanistan to hand over.
Before things go too far, Pakistan chooses to take a step back. They allowed Iranian scientists and archaeologists to enter, access the mummy of the Persian Princess and collaborate on research.
Murder, body processing
Having just arrived in Karachi, the team from Iran rushed into the museum to meet and pay their respects to the “Persian Princess”. They received the archeological report of Pakistan, embarked on reconfirmation.
Right from the moment they touched the coffin containing the mummy, the Iranian group had… fell on their backs. It has a lot of traces… pencils, which didn’t first appear in Europe until the end of the 18th century (the purest graphite deposits are also from the 16th century, and of course are far from being sold. to the Middle East). Analysis of the piece of wood separated from this coffin also shows that it is only about 250 years old (about 2350 years before Rhodugune died).
The coffin of the mummy of the Persian Princess is only about 250 years old
In world history, the smuggling of mummies from Egypt to the West began in the 15th century and lasted for 300 years. The Iranian team is very hopeful, only the coffin is fake, but the mummy of the Persian Princess inside is still real. They removed the bandages on the body and did a thorough examination. Unexpectedly, it was the body of a young woman who was killed and turned into a mummy in the 1990s.
According to the autopsy results, she was only about 20-25 years old, with severe damage to the bones of her skull and spine. The killer likely killed her with a blunt object and then pretended to be an ancient mummy, selling it for money. In addition, she may also have been killed and dismembered first; then it was dug up by someone else and turned into a mummy.
The person who was actually embalmed was a woman who died of murder in the 1990s
The Pakistani police returned to Balochistan to arrest Bakhi. However, he had run away for a long time, leaving no trace. After all, the mummy of the Persian Princess is just an inhuman archaeological scam. Since then, Pakistan has been looking for Bakhi but has not found him. They also investigate the murderer and fake mummy Rhodugune, but no positive results.
