Dr. Stephen Buckley from the University of York and Dr. Jana Jones have found combinations of embalming chemicals at Mostagedda, an archeological site that dates back to 6,000 B.C.

They said the linen wrappings were from ancient corpses found at Mostagedda, one of the earliest recorded Egyptian burial grounds

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Dr. Jones said she has been fascinated over the past 10 years by information about early and mysterious ways of treating the deceased at the Neolithic burial grounds at Mostagedda and Badari.

In 2001, she was able to examine a few samples of funerary textiles from the sites that were sent from Egypt to numerous museums in the United Kingdom in the 1930s.

"Microscopic analysis with my colleague Ron Oldfield revealed resins were likely to have been used but I wasn't able to confirm my theories, or their full significance, without tapping into my York colleague's unique knowledge of ancient organic compounds," said Dr. Jones.

The combination of chemicals was identified by Dr. Buckley to be mix of a plant gum or sugar, a plant oil or animal fat, pine resin and a natural petroleum source.

The antibacterial characteristics of a few of the chemicals coupled with the preservation of localized soft-tissues led the team to conclude the preserved bodies were the origins of the mummification methods used in the Pharaonic period, Dr. Buckley said.

The blend of substances used as embalming agents contained antibacterial ingredients in the same proportion as those utilized by Egyptian embalmers at the peak of the mummification practice around 2,500 to 3,000 years later.

They were also akin to the standards used throughout the 3,000 year Pharaonic period in Egypt, he said.

TagsMummy, Egypt, Archaeology, Science, scientific research