PESED REPORT XI -- Lamentations

by Sam Farmerie, Westminster College Curator of Cultural Aritfacts (724) 946-7053 (10/18/01)

October 30, 2001
Dear Diary:

During the first several days of the exhibit at the Whitaker Center hundreds of learners, mostly young people, have viewed the exhibit. I have heard that first week attendance at the Center has exceeded projections by almost 400%.

President Williamson made the long journey to Harrisburg to view the displays and engage in the interactive exhibits. He has seen me on a number of occasions at Westminster College, but had to drive many miles to see all these Egyptian artifacts on display.

After the Harrisburg exhibit, I will return to my place of prominence in the Mack Library, but most of the other items in the exhibit will be returned to storage because of inadequate display space. Too bad! There are many aspects of my civilization that should be accessible to the College community. Parenthetically, I wonder how many members of the community know I exist and have made an effort to view me?

Much to my chagrin, my presence may be frightening to some. I overheard an adult note that during his preschool years, he and his friends took a wide path around my display area because they were afraid of me.

There is a male mummy from my hometown, Akhmim, on exhibit at the Buffalo Museum of Science. My biggest regret is that I have been unable to confirm the relationship between him and myself. There are indications he may be my son or grandson. Inscriptions on both our coffins point in that direction. A stela (limestone tablet) in the Cairo museum seems to support the possibility. Also, a papyrus scroll amid the holdings of the Seminary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church at New Brunswick, NJ seems to indicate a connection.

The only way to confirm the relationship is through DNA analysis, but the possibility of doing such on both of us is slim. We are so many miles from home yet relatively close geographically speaking. I would really like to know more about this possible offspring.

Pesed

PESED REPORT X
by Sam Farmerie, Westminster College Curator of Cultural Aritfacts (724) 946-7053 (10/18/01)

October 19, 2001
Dear Diary:
It's nearly midnight and I am exhausted. Tonight was my coming out party at the Whitaker Center. I had been in the presence of important people in my native Egypt, but never so many in such a short time. There were hundreds of people from various walks of life. My curators from Westminster College were here, as were my doctors from the Pinnacle Health System. There were important politicians and benefactors of the Whitaker Center and Westminster. I really enjoyed listening to them converse about me, and also about contemporary American life.

Thanks to the efforts of my retinue, the exhibit, Egypt: Untold Journeys is a spectacular event. The Whitaker curators have created displays that depict my ancient home. Spectators who are alert will learn much about my homeland through the various exhibits of tools, jewelry, papyrus, ushebtis (figurines), photographs, sketches and paintings. They will learn even more through the interactive exhibits. I may join some of them in the Imax Theatre to reminisce about my land and times through the movie, The Mysteries of Ancient Egypt.

This has been a learning experience for me. I had often wondered how I came to reside at Westminster College. Now I know. Dr. Jonathan Elias explained it in his descriptive materials. I experienced modern medical procedures. I frequently heard my Westminster curators discussing missionaries. This was a strange word. Until now I never knew the meaning of the word or about the wonderful things they did for my people and homeland.

I must sign off now because tomorrow will be a busy day. While there were important people here tonight, the group that will come tomorrow and for the next 90 days may be more important. They are America's youth, its future leaders. I have a big responsibility to enhance their education.
Pesed

PESED REPORT IX -- Show Time!
by Sam Farmerie, Westminster College Curator of Cultural Aritfacts (724) 946-7053 (10/12/01)

The hour is imminent! Pesed has been on a working vacation at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg since August 9. Her belongings were shipped a month earlier. Ever since then her retinue has been fastidious in preparing for a spectacular coming out party, the exhibit Egypt: The Untold Journeys. They have been researching and creating descriptors and illustrations to support the exhibit. Pesed has been to the hospital for X-ray and CAT Scan procedures. Her fine linen has been subjected to radio carbon dating. The information from these procedures will be used to develop interactive experiences for a primary audience of school children.

The exhibit will open to the general public October 20. The previous evening the Whitaker Center will host an opening reception. Over 800 potential admirers have been invited to the event. Pesed will be in her glory with so many important people admiring her. Invitees include the governor, other state and local government officials, doctors from the Pinnacle Heath System, a range of scientists, clergy, educators and other professionals, and trustees and benefactors of the Center and of Westminster College.

THE PESED REPORT VIII
by Sam Farmerie, Westminster College Curator of Cultural Aritfacts (724) 946-7053 (10/05/01)

Report VII traced the journey of Pesed's soul to the paradise of the celestial river. This report describes the journey of her physical remains.

According to recently completed radio carbon dating of Pesed's linen wrappings, her mummification took place some time between 300 and 220 B.C. She was interred in a vast necropolis at the city of Akhmim. The Egyptians devised mummification more than 6,000 years ago. Contrary to popular belief, hundreds of millions of remains were mummified. The process involved removing the brains and the viscera, the latter to be embalmed. The cadaver was then packed with natron to draw off the moisture. After about 70 days, the natron was removed and the corpse dressed with oils and herbs. The embalmed viscera, wrapped in bundles, were then inserted into the abdomen. Lastly the mummy was wrapped with a thousand or so yards of line. The extent of the process and burial site was dependent upon the deceased's station in life.

In the early 1880s, the Akhmim necropolis with its thousands of mummies was unearthed by an Italian archeologist. Being presented with the opportunity to buy a mummy, Presbyterian missionary Rev. John Giffen, an 1871 graduate, purchased one named Pesed for his alma mater. This was 1885. Rev. John Alexander (D.D. 1910), a colleague, escorted the mummy to the United States. After considerable difficulty on the steamship and in the Port of New York, Pesed arrived in New Wilmington later that year.

Pesed's next 115 years were somewhat hectic. In early 1886, she took a brief excursion to Greenville to be the "star" of the Citizen's Hose Company Exposition. During the ensuring years on campus, she was moved from building to building and sometimes from one storage room to another. She suffered the indignity of decapitation, and was rumored to have spent more than one night in a dormitory room.

In the mid-1980s, Pesed's fortunes began to change. She was restored to her rightful position of prominence by Westminster student Susan Grady (1985), who engineered a campaign to raise money for mummy restoration and a display case. A few years later, Egyptologist Dr. Jonathan Ellias became aware of Pesed's presence at the College through contacts with an attendee of the New Wilmington Missionary Conference.

Dr. Elias subsequently became Director of Exhibits at the newly created Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg. Through his efforts, an Egyptian exhibit with Pesed as the focus was devised. In August 2001, under the supervision of Dr. Elias, Pesed was transported to Harrisburg in a controlled atmosphere van. She will be on exhibit at the Center beginning October 20. The exhibit, which includes about 150 artifacts from the Westminster College collection, will continue for 90 days.

THE PESED REPORT VII
by Sam Farmerie, Westminster College Curator of Cultural Aritfacts (724) 946-7053 (9/26/01)

Pesed's afterlife involved two journeys: 1) the journey of the soul to the Fields of Yalu (paradise) and 2) the physical journeys of her mummified remains. The physical journeys, which brought her to New Wilmington and Harrisburg, will be the subject of the next report.

Upon death, Pesed's soul was separated from her body and taken on a hazardous journey to the place of the Last judgment. The journey begins with navigation of the perilous river of the Underworld. Her loving guide is the jackal headed god Anubis. The travelers must evade giant baboons, dragons, and nasty serpents. After which there are the trials at the seven gates and trials at the ten pylons -- all this, just to appear before the judgment seat of Osiris. The Last Judgment, consists of weighing her heart against the feather of truth. The soul must show that it has never done evil to anyone. It must also show application of a form of the "Golden Rule." Ammut, the crocodile headed monster, is waiting below for her failure. Being the fine lady that she was, Pesed's heart was lighter than the feather. She passed through to the paradise along the celestial river in the Fields of Yalu (Fields of the Blessed).

THE PESED REPORT VI
by Sam Farmerie, Westminster College Curator of Cultural Aritfacts (724) 946-7053 (9/21/01)

This report digresses from the usual format of discussing what is happening in Pesed's afterlife. Questions have been raised about the process and outcomes of CAT Scanning. These questions are probably best answered through the pictorial description presented below courtesy of the Harrisburg Patriot News.

THE PESED REPORT V (The Agony and the Ecstasy)
by Sam Farmerie, Westminster College Curator of Cultural Aritfacts (724) 946-7053 (9/14/01)

Report IV revealed some findings from the in-depth analysis of the CAT scans and X-rays. Additional analysis of the skeletal system images indicates that Pesed gave birth on at least one occasion. Those of us who have reared children are very familiar with the agony and the ecstasy associated with bringing children into the world and raising them to adulthood.

We have already reported on some of her afflictions at the time of death. The images also indicate that her body was debilitated. This was probably the result of upper and lower jaw abscesses and many missing teeth. Evidence pertaining to heart failure, renal failure, and similar organic breakdowns is unobtainable. Thus, there is no way to speculate on these as a potential cause of death. The debilitated condition could be a result of fighting the septicemia from the abscesses or malnourishment because of her inability to chew. The available evidence leads several physician friends of mine to speculate that septicemia was the cause of death since antibiotics were unavailable. The jury is still out. Whatever the cause, Pesed must have been in agony during her last years.

The Judeo-Christian tradition places great stress on the "ecstasy" of the hereafter. The same was true in Ptolemaic Egypt where the belief was that passing muster at the Last Judgment would open the gate to "paradise."

THE PESED REPORT IV - by Sam Farmerie, Westminster College Curator of Cultural Aritfacts (724) 946-7053 (9/7/01)

In contemporary society, it is a woman's right to conceal her age or even "fudge" a little about it. Poor Pesed. In spite of her best efforts, modern science, in the form of scanning and x-rays of her skeletal system, has revealed the truth. The age reported several weeks ago was over 50. A more in depth analysis of the images places her age at between 55 and 65. That's very old for Ptolemaic Egypt, and not exactly young in contemporary times.

To visualize her carriage at the time of death observe the typical bent over female senior citizen in our time. Pesed had lumbar degeneration and compaction fractures of the spine. There was also evidence of a Dowager's Hump, a condition caused by osteoporosis.

The legs were less degenerated than the trunk of her body. It might be postulated that this was because at some point in life, she extensively exercised her legs. The written record indicates that she was a musician. Could it be that Egyptian musicians were also dancers?

In spite of the fact that her secrets are one by one being revealed, Pesed remains as alluring and charming as ever.

Watch for PESED REPORT V. In it the writer will speculate about her cause of death.

THE PESED REPORT III by Sam Farmerie 8/31/01

Even though her secrets are being revealed by modern medical science, Pesed the mummy remains an undaunted mystery woman. Other secrets are likely to be revealed, but in the meantime, she is observing events leading toward her Oct. 20 coming out party.

Pesed is enjoying the surroundings at the strangely shaped Harrisburg "pyramid," the Whitaker Center. The Center, like places of interment in her native Egypt, is stocked with many of the necessities for her current after life.

Ushabtis (figurines) of Egypt's beneficent gods (Osiris, Isis, Horus, etc.) are present to oversee the proceedings. If Pesed becomes bored with the activity, she could pass the time by reading from the papyrus documents that accompanied her. And if she is bilingual, she might even read from a cuneiform block. An oil lamp will provide illumination. Pesed has a flask for a refreshing beverage. She has fine beads and amulets to adorn her and finely carved scarabs for good luck.

The mummy has a cache of Ptolemic coins, which might be used to buy fine clothing in the nearby shops of Strawberry Square or for a meal at the exquisite restaurant.

When she becomes homesick, a glance at "Gib" McGill's pastel of her hometown, Akhmim, relieves the feeling. Should she become lonely, there are mummified cats and kittens to lie on her lap and a falcon to perch on her shoulder. These and other artifacts are all on loan to the Whitaker "pyramid" by Westminster College.

The living members of the entourage are busily preparing for the coming out party. They are reviewing medical data, planning additional medical procedures, developing interactive exhibits, getting the "pyramid" ready for the party, and telling the world about the journeys of Westminster missionaries in Egypt, Egypt's path to civilization and the experiences of Pesed.

Watch for future reports on Pesed's experiences and condition.

THE PESED REPORT II by Sam Farmerie 08/21/01

Pesed's condition may be more serious than originally expected. The x-rays and CAT Scan indicate that she has no brains. It has also been determined that her viscera had been removed, embalmed, wrapped in bundles, and put back inside her body cavity. There also appears to be another bundle in the body cavity, which may contain a funerary papyrus. No wonder she is not feeling well, with no brains and a disconnected viscera and a foreign body in my body, I would feel miserable too.

In addition, Pesed may have been using linen wrappings (perhaps 200 layers) and a burial mask to conceal her true age. She was originally admitted to the hospital as a teenager. However, a preliminary analysis of the medical tests seems to indicate that she may be 50 or older. Shame on her for lying!

Updated reports on Pesed's condition will be issued as more information becomes available.

THE PESED REPORT I by Sam Farmerie 08/17/01

After a week's sojourn at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg the mummy reported feeling in ill health. On August 16, 2001 she was transported to the Harrisburg Hospital for a partial medical work-up. In the presence of about forty people (media and interested parties from both Whitaker and the Hospital) she was x-rayed and a cat-scan was completed. The preliminary diagnosis was rigor mortis and homesickness. It is unknown whether the homesickness was for the sands of Egypt or the sights and sounds of Westminster College. She is now resting comfortably at her Whitaker Center sanctuary. As with many dignitaries, her condition was reported on the front page of The Harrisburg Patriot. Reports on her activities will be issued periodically.

Click here for more information on Westminster's Mummy:
www.westminster.edu/News/comm_site/news/2000-2001/MummyTravel.html