Grave of the Mummy

Middlebury, Vermont

The most famous artifact owned by the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, never actually exhibited, was the mummy of the 2-year old son of and Egyptian king. Henry Sheldon bought "Amun-Her-Khepesh-Ef," sight unseen, and was so disappointed in its drippy and tattered condition that he never displayed it.

The Mummy was stored in the attic until 1945, when the curator discovered it. George Mead, at that time the president of the museum's board of directors, opted for a proper Christian burial over museum exhibition, and the Mummy was cremated in 1950, the ashes buried in the Mead family plot. Mr. Mead, we were told, was savvy enough to realize that you don't bury a mummy in a town filled with college kids.

The Mummy's weathered tombstone, carved with the hieroglyphic symbols for Life and Soul (along with a Christian cross), stood in West Cemetery, between Emma Moody (died 1838) and Caroline Hawley Mead (1894). It vanished by 2023, and was replaced with a much less interesting one set flat into the ground. Amun's date of death is given as 1883 BC.