“These are unique individuals, unique objects,” she said. This kind of work is always painstaking, filled with pre-planning and tests so scientists are prepared for the unexpected, said Molly Gleeson, who works with mummies as project conservator at Penn Museum’s “In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies” exhibition in Philadelphia. “The fascinating thing about any mummy is that it’s survived as long as it has,” Brown said. Scientists don’t know why he died so young. If Minirdis had lived, he would have been a priest like his father, Brown said. Walking around the opened coffin, Brown pointed and explained the significance of a certain marking, the coloured resin on the linen wrappings or the gilded gold on the mask. “The last bit of ’Indiana Jones’ and all that,” Brown explained before opening the coffin. Pieces of the coffin had previously gone missing, exposing the mummy to the elements. Article content AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogastīrown didn’t worry that the mummy would scatter to dust when opened - something common in the movies.