At a dark time in European history, people thought cannibalism was good for health. Therefore, eating Egyptian mummies was a trend in Europe.
They believed that the mummy remains that were mashed and dyed could cure various ailments, from bubonic plague to headaches. Not surprisingly, the corpses of ancient Egyptians wrapped in bandages had a special charm in the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
Even though it didn't taste good, Europeans at that time were forced to swallow it because they believed in its efficacy. There was one medicinal product called Mumia, which was selling well in its time.
Quoted from The Conversation, Mumia was extracted from the body of a mummy and consumed routinely for centuries by the rich and poor alike. Medicines made from the remains of mummies brought from Egyptian tombs back to Europe are widely sold in pharmacies.
When antibiotics were not yet invented, ancient doctors even prescribed skulls, bones, and ground meat to treat various ailments, from headaches to reducing swelling or recovering from plague.
However, of the many people who believed that mummies could be medicine, Guy de la Fontaine, a royal doctor, doubted Mumia as a medicinal product.
"Because there are fake mummies circulating, made from farmers who died in Alexandria in 1546. That way, people have the potential to be tricked into eating fake mummies," said Fontaine, revealing the reason.
As a result of this forgery, plus the supply of ancient Egyptian mummies could not meet their needs, people began to shift to buying fresh meat and blood (humans who had recently died) to be used as medicine and claimed to be more efficacious. This claim of fresh meat and blood is more nutritious, even the most respected noble figure at that time.
Meanwhile, experts believe pharmacists and shamans were still concocting mummy medicines until the 18th century.
England's King Charles II, for example, dared to take a drug made from human skulls after suffering a seizure. This drug from the human skull was used until 1909, when doctors could prescribe it for those with neurological disorders.
For the royal family and people from the social elite class, eating mummies seemed to be a prestigious medicine because doctors claimed mummies were made from pharaohs.
Mummy Unpacking Party Tradition
In the 19th century, people no longer consumed mummies to cure disease. But the Victorians had a more adventurous party.
They held a party devoted to unveiling the remains of ancient Egyptian mummies. At the party, the host will entertain his guests by unwrapping the mummy.
When the bandages, flesh, and shins appeared, people would flock to him and take a look. This creates its own entertainment, parties with mummies over drinking. The feast of unveiling the mummy ended in the 20th century. The terrible sensation seems to have given the impression of being unusual and considered destroying archaeological remains.
Modern Mummy
In 2016, Egyptologist John J. Johnston hosted the first public unveiling of a mummy since 1908. Part art, part science and part performance. Johnston creates a recreation of what it was like to be present at a Mummy Opening in the Victorian period. Currently, the black market for smuggling antiquities, including mummies, is worth an estimated $3 billion.
No doctor recommends eating it. But the lure that mummies can cure disease persists. Mummies are still being hunted to be sold, exploited, and become commodities of fantastic value