Page 24 - British Museum: Mummies Unwrapped

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What happened when mummies were discovered?
Thousands of years after they were buried, people in Europe started to become interested in mummies too.
During the Middle Ages, it was believed the bitumen sometimes
used in embalming had magical healing powers. People began
digging up mummies, grinding them to a powder and selling it as medicine. The French King Francis I carried a packet of powdered mummy with
him at all times in case he ever urgently needed healing!