The Landesmuseum
Natur
und Mensch in Oldenburg, Germany (in the northwest part of the country
near the Dutch border)
is a gem of a mummy museum specializing in bog finds. The museum's
holdings include three bog bodies, as well as various articles of clothing
and other bog finds. But the most spectacular part of the exhibit is an
enormous chunk of bog itself.
The only drawback? All of the
display labels and signs are in German; the museum does not have
guidebooks or audio tours in other languages. But the displays are so well
done that the visual images carry the day.
Highly
recommended!
Visit
the bog exhibits at the Museum.
When I was
there, a special exhibit on death entitled Wohin die Toten gehen displayed
the head of an Egyptian mummy, decorated with gold leaf and presumably
part of the museum's own collection.
This head, which was
partly unwrapped, was dated to the Middle Kingdom period (though this
designation was followed by a question mark on the museum label).
What
is interesting about the head is the gold leaf decoration that was
applied. Though it isn't quite clear in the photos, it is visible
under the mummy's eyes (particularly the mummy's left eye) and under
the bottom lip. It is unclear whether the gold leaf covered the entire
face. Notice the wrappings that still adhere to the top of the mummy's
head.
No other information about the mummy was given, including how
the museum acquired it or what happened to the body.
If you are flying to
Germany, Oldenburg is within easy reach from Bremen, Hamburg,
Hannover, Düsseldorf, and Frankfurt. You can check air fares and
hotels at Travelocity.com:
