Egyptian Mummy 're-discovered' at UCC

A 2,300-year-old Egyptian Mummy which had lain hidden under floorboards of UCC, has been captured in stunning images by a local photographer.

The sarcophagus had been hidden for the last hundred years under the Pathology Lecture Theatre after being transported to Cork by a professor in 1903.

The hidden Mummy was long believed to be just an Indiana Jones-style urban myth by students, but its existence has been confirmed by student Patrick Daly last Friday, who photographed it in the college.

The images show the ancient artefact being examined by experts – it’s believed the sarcophagus dates to between 600BC and 700BC, but the Mummy itself dates from around 300BC.

The 2,300-year-old mummy under the floorboards that UCC has been in custody dispute with Egypt over has been spotted on the move in the library #UCC pic.twitter.com/CDpIqddSTZ

— Billie Bluff (@squireFirebrand) September 27, 2022

The existence of the Mummy was confirmed in the 1970s following media enquiries, but this is the first the coffin has seen the light of day.

According to a thesis published by Egyptologist Helen Davis, it was common for Mummies to end up in sarcophagi that weren’t intended for them, meaning the true origin of the UCC Mummy remains shrouded in mystery.

It’s unclear how the Mummy ended up in Cork, but one theory is that it was transported here by a professor who worked in the college between 1884 and 1924.

It’s understood the Eqyptian authorities want to see the Mummy returned to its ancient motherland, and UCC had engaged in talks, but these were stalled following a wave of political unrest in Egypt.