Watertown Middle School’s seventh grade went to the Museum of Fine Arts exhibit “Secrets of Tomb 10A” to learn the history of Egyptian life. They also went to see a mummified head of what might have been the Egyptian governor, Djehutynakht, or his wife.

As the students walked into the great marble room, all of the students let out oohs and ahhhs as they saw the fine details and artistry.

Next, the students went to the tour room to meet their tour guide and begin their trip.

The students walked into a room where they found themselves staring at a great piece of rock with the story of Gilgamesh. The students two path choices, the mummy room or the tools and daily life room.

Taking the mummy path, the students entered a dimly lit room filled with mummies of all shapes and sizes. There was a little girl, as big as a modern 5-year-old, and there were also a few boy mummies.

Walking ahead, students passed objects found with the mummies. These objects were left in the pyramids so the mummy could use them in the afterlife. A few of those objects were wooden boats (war boats, burial boats, etc.) Many other objects were found, including wooden cows with people feeding them to get them fat so they could kill them, which would, in turn, feed the mummies.

Students were next led to a bright lit room where there were sarcophaguses (coffins) of mummies. They were ripped and torn and looked like they had been eaten by termites. They had hieroglyphs written on them, with spells to ward off the demons in the underworld and pictures of servants and animals for the mummy to use in the after life.

When that part of the exhibit was over, students went to see the mummified head, which was the biggest part of the exhibit.

The exhibit received the head in October and DNA from the mummified head’s tooth, which was removed, is still being tested. The skull was all green and old, with the left ear showing and the nose sticking out.

It was a horrific sight. As the seventh-graders exited out of the museum, they were getting goosebumps on their arms and neck.

Victoria H., a seventh-grader in Cluster 4, said, “I thought it was pretty cool.”

Lyall Croft, a humanities teacher, said, “I think it was fun, also interesting because of how old the preserved artifacts and mummy heads are. They look like they were made yesterday.

“I think my students asked lots of great questions and were really interested!”

(“Secrets of Tomb10A,” Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through May 16. For information, go to the MFA’s website, http://www.mfa.org.)

–Feb. 23, 2010–