Mummy returns to Belfast display

BBC News, Northern Ireland ()

The Egyptian mummy - a source of fascination for children since she came to Belfast in 1834 - had been in storage as the Ulster Museum went through a major refurbishment over a period of nearly three years.

But she has returned to her home at the corner of Belfast's Botanic Park and will be ready to receive visitors when the new-look museum opens in October.

The mummy has always been a major draw for the museum.

But curators dismissed as "urban myth" a popular story that the mummy once contracted a bad case of nits from the children of Belfast and ended up under glass to protect herself.

"She dates from 660 BC and was the daughter of a priest living in Thebes in the Valley of the Kings," said Dr Jim McGreevy, head curator at National Museums Northern Ireland.