Telangana State Archaeology Museum || 2500-year-old Egyptian mummy in Hyderabad

Telangana State Archaeology Museum or Hyderabad Museum is a museum located in Hyderabad, India. It is the oldest museum in Hyderabad.
Archaeologist Henry Cousens first explored the site in the beginning of the 19th century, and around 1940 the mound was excavated under the supervision of Nizam of Hyderabad. The excavated items were placed in a museum built on the ancient site. In 1952, the museum's contents were moved to the current building, under the administrative control of Archaeological Survey of India.[1]

In 1930, (Nizam VII) Mir Osman Ali Khan, who wanted to preserve the Hyderabad's state's heritage, had named the museum as Hyderabad Museum.[2]

It was named as Andhra Pradesh State Archaeology Museum in 1960.[3]

In 2008, a sword belonging to the Nizam and other artifacts were stolen from the museum.[4][5]

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, the museum was renamed Telangana State Archeology Museum.



Egyptian Mummy at the museum



Bust of Buddha in the Telangana State Archeology Museum

Collection

GalleryEdit



Gallery

 



Chariot

 



Bronze idols

 



Kakatiya mandapam

 



Buddha stupa

 



Mahavira Statue, 12th Century






2500-year-old Egyptian mummy in Telangana museum gets a new life.


The embalmed body was getting fragmented around the face, shoulders and the feet.

The 1.40-metre-long mummy, believed to be that of Nasihu, the daughter of the Sixth Pharaoh of Egypt of 2500 BC, has been on display at the state museum since 1930.

A 2,500-year-old Egyptian mummy housed in the Telangana State Archaeology Museum in Hyderabad, which had been facing the threat of disintegration over years, has now been restored to a large extent and experts say there is no threat of any decay for at least another two to three decades.

The main reason for the decay of mummy was oxidation over a period of time. Based on the experts’ suggestions, the mummy was shifted from the wooden chamber into a glass chamber imported from Germany. The chamber is connected to a nitrogen supplier, which constantly supplies nitrogen and removes oxygen,” said B Ganga Devi, assistant director of the museum, who has been taking care of the mummy over the years.

The 1.40-metre-long mummy, believed to be that of Nasihu, the daughter of the Sixth Pharaoh of Egypt of 2500 BC, has been on display at the state museum since 1930.

The mummy was brought to Hyderabad by Nawab Nazeer Nawaz Jung, also known as Viqar-ul-Umrahi Paigah, the son-in-law of Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, around 1920. Nawaz Jung had bought it for 1,000 pounds in an open auction.

It was kept in the first floor of the now Chiran Fort in Begumpet for a long time, before it was gifted to Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam, who in turn donated it to the state museum in 1930,” heritage activist Mohammad Safiullah said.

Till a couple of years ago, the mummy was on display in an airtight wooden enclosure with glass planks on sides. “Over the years, the wooden chamber became weakened exposing the mummy to air, posing a risk of getting decayed,” said B Ganga Devi.

The embalmed body was getting fragmented around the face, shoulders and the feet. The wrapping around the body was getting peeled off and the cracks were very conspicuous at several places.

Several efforts have been made over the last 10-12 years to restore the mummy. In August 2009, the YS Rajasekhara Reddy government (then CM of undivided Andhra Pradesh) summoned an expert in restoration of mummies from Egypt.

“He made a preliminary study and went back. Some other experts from Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Egypt, were also supposed to join him in taking up the restoration work, but the project did not take off following the sudden demise of Rajasekhara Reddy in September 2009,” an official in the department of archaeology,


location: Shared route
From Hyderabad to Telangana State Archaeology Museum, I Floor, H A C A Bhavan, P G Road, 5-10-193, Srinagar - Kanyakumari Hwy, near Control Room, Lakdikapul, Hyderabad, Telangana 500004 via Hyderguda-Basheerbagh Rd.

7 min (3.5 km)
7 min in current traffic