Posted on 09/19/2006 7:58:36 PM PDT by GinJax
BRIDGEPORT — Every day was April Fools' Day for P.T. Barnum, the renowned showman and self-proclaimed Prince of Humbugs, a title that leads to questions about the authenticity of the artifacts he left behind.
After all, the Bridgeport Renaissance man gave the world the Fejee Mermaid, a fantasy creature that was one of his biggest hoaxes. But leave it to Barnum to play with people's minds, even from beyond the grave.
Just as one starts to believe everything in Barnum's collection sprang from his creative genius, along come a couple of archaeological experts to authenticate Pa-Ib, an Egyptian mummy reputed to be the oldest possession in the Barnum Museum's collection.
Jerry Conlogue and Ron Beckett, Quinnipiac University professors and hosts of the National Geographic Channel's "Mummy Road Show," on Thursday poked, prodded and X-rayed Pa-Ib, in hopes of unlocking some of the secrets he's held for centuries.
They were able to determine Pa-Ib did not spring from Barnum's imagination, but is, in fact, the real deal.
"He's the real McCoy so far," Beckett said.
Well, at least they confirmed Pa-Ib had been a real person. Whether he was, as claimed by Barnum, an Egyptian priest who served the pagan deity Min 2,500 years ago; was born during the 26th Dynasty of the ancient Empire, or was even male, are all still parts of the mystery yet to be unraveled.
"It's never been scientifically researched, how old was he when he died, is it male or female? We're ecstatic to be here," Beckett said.
"The one solid fact we have is that it was donated by Nancy Fish Barnum, Barnum's second wife, in 1892 to the Bridgeport Scientific Society," said Stephanie Cutrone, the museum's assistant curator.
During the course of their one-month research on the mummy, Conlogue and Beckett hope to answer some of the lingering questions about Pa-Ib's history. But they're taking it one step at a time.
"Today, we're determining the condition of the mummy. Is he in good shape? How fragile is he? And collect as many details as we can with limited equipment," Conlogue said.
If the mummy is sturdy enough and can be stabilized for transport, the archaeological team hopes to take a CT scan at a local doctor's office, which would give them a more detailed and sophisticated photograph than they were able to secure on site Thursday.
The first film revealed Pa-Ib's got bad teeth. "He probably had really bad halitosis," Conlogue said. "They're worn down, his teeth are kind of flat," he said.
That information alone was revealing. It told the researchers the mummy was over 18.
"We don't know what strata of society he came from," Conlogue said, but the bad teeth offer a possible hint. "He may have had a diet that would not sit well with the royals," Beckett said.
"That's not to say the Pharaohs didn't have bad teeth," Conlogue said.
Beckett said the research would probably be able to tell them if Pa-Ib had a life of labor or leisure and if the mummy had any old fractures and they'll probably be able to determine the gender. Beyond that there aren't many facts the mummy will disclose because of the practices of collectors at the turn of the 19th to 20th century.
There were no regulations about the purchase of cultural artifacts back then. People often purchased a mummy and a separate sarcophagus in which to display it, so all the information may not match up.
Still, Kathy Maher, the museum's executive director, is eager for a translation of the hieroglyphics on Pa-Ib's sarcophagus. "That's another fascinating exploration, another piece of the puzzle," Maher said.
Eventually, Pa-Ib will be back on display, and Conlogue hopes to provide the Barnum Museum's Web site with a three-dimensional reconstruction of his skull that would rotate on a horizontal plane, giving viewers a peek at otherwise unseen features.
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