Archaeology: egyptian teenage mummy 'perplexes' stunned experts

Experts from Egypt and Spain helped excavate the girl, who was around 15 or 16 years old at the time of her death. The remains, located before construction work was due to be carried out at

Luxor's West Bank, date back to Egypt's 17th dynasty. She was found with ornate and valuable jewellery, which suggested wealth, leaving the team confused as to why she was buried

in such a "relatively modest coffin". The teenager was uncovered lying on her side, in a coffin that is believed to have been made out of a sycamore tree trunk. She was wearing two

spiral earrings, that Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said were believed to be plated with copper leaf, as well as a bone ring, a blue glass ring and four necklaces linked

together by a ceramic clip. The necklaces are between 24 and 27.5 inches long, and have "blue faience beads of varying hues", the Smithsonian Magazine reports. Expedition director

Jose Galan said that aspects of the girl's clothing were in a "good state of preservation, despite being 3,600 years old". He explained in a statement released in May that the

valuables found in the coffin were "perplexing" as "the wealth of the trousseau for a person so young with a relatively modest coffin is surprising". Mr Galan continued:

"These things are likely to belong to a woman who used them for sports or as part of dance." The team revealed that it was likely the coffins, which Mr Galan said were found

alongside what appeared to be other abandoned coffins, were left untouched by grave robbers who had been forced to flee after being disturbed. He added: "Paradoxically, what thieves

were looking for the most, which was metal and semi-precious stones, was what they did not see because they acted too quickly and with very little lighting. JUST IN: EGYPT'S GREAT

PYRAMID SECRET EXPOSED BY EXPERT Her remains, however, were described as being in a poor state of conservation - meaning experts are unable to understand exactly what caused the

teenager's death. The team suspects that given the wealth of artefacts surrounding the girl, it was likely she was a member of a high-class Egyptian family. Mohamed Abdel-Badie, head of

the Upper Egypt archaeological department, said that researchers are hoping to begin work studying the girl's body in a bid to understand what happened to her.