Of all the places to find 2,000 year old mummies, God's Own County of Yorkshire (or, as proud Yorkshiremen wouldn't thank me for pointing out, God Own Counties of North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, East Yorkshire and West Yorkshire as Yorkshire has been since it was spilt into four counties in 1974) is not one of them.
But leading Egyptologist, Professor Joann Fletcher, believes ancient mummies like those from Egypt may be buried under the South Yorkshire town of Barnsley.
Barnsley-born Fletcher says remains dating from Roman times show the practice of mummification had spread from North Africa to the Yorkshire town.
The most dramatic demonstration that they reached Britain is a gypsum cast dug up near Barnsley which would have covered the embalmed, linen-wrapped body of a child who died in about 300AD.
Now Professor Fletcher hopes that excavations of burial pits in Barnsley could find the mummies.
The Mummies of Barnsley: By gum! Ancient Egyptians left embalmed bodies in Yorkshire
Professor Joann Fletcher says remains dating from Roman times show the practice had spread from North Africa to the Yorkshire town
Already discovered a gypsum cast dug up near Barnsley which would have covered the embalmed, linen-wrapped body of a child
By James Tozer
23 September 2013
Daily Mail
It is not exactly the first place you would expect to find 2,000-year-old mummies.
But that is precisely what a leading Egyptologist suspects are hidden beneath the streets of Barnsley, it emerged yesterday.
Television archaeologist Professor Joann Fletcher says remains dating from Roman times show the practice had spread from North Africa to the Yorkshire town.
Ancient clue: The gypsum cast - which covered a child's embalmed, linen-wrapped body - found in York
History: Experts hope relics much like this gold mask of ancient pharaoh king Tutankhamen might be lurking underneath the streets of Barnsley
Now she hopes that the extraordinary prospect of finding a preserved mummy may result from digs on undisturbed burial plots in the area.
After Egyptians became part of the Roman Empire following the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in 31BC, they travelled throughout Europe, taking their burial practices with them, experts believe.
The most dramatic demonstration that they reached Britain is a gypsum cast dug up near Barnsley which would have covered the embalmed, linen-wrapped body of a child who died in about 300AD.
Egyptologist and Barnsley lass Joann Fletcher
Ancient Egyptians are believed to have used gypsum plaster in a bid to adapt the custom of mummification to the damp Yorkshire climate.
Other discoveries include bronze figurines of Egyptian gods and coins dating back to the time of the Roman conquest, while tests on skeletons confirm they originate in North Africa.
Now Prof Fletcher - who was born in Barnsley and presented a BBC documentary series Ancient Egypt: Life and Death In The Valley Of The Kings - hopes unexcavated burial pits in the area may yield a preserved mummy.
Up north: So far, examples of mummification techniques have been discovered in Pollington, a few miles north of Barnsley, (pictured) as well as in York and Castleford
'We've only just started looking to be honest, because until very recently who knew these existed?' she said.
'There's certainly evidence that Romans in our part of the world were embalming, mummifying and wrapping in linen their dead, according to Egyptian customs.
'Analysis on some bones shows these individuals were born and raised in North Africa.
'It really does widen your horizons - in some ways it blows your mind.
'You don't think 2,000 years ago that Ancient Egyptians came to Yorkshire - but they did.' So far, examples of mummification techniques have been discovered in Pollington, a few miles north of Barnsley, as well as in York and Castleford.
Until now, the cast used to wrap the child's body and the other artefacts have been scattered in museums across Yorkshire.
However they have now been brought together in a new exhibition at Experience Barnsley called The Romans Are Coming which for the first time reveals the link between Yorkshire and Ancient Egypt.
But Prof Fletcher, who in 2003 led an expedition in Egypt which claimed to find the mummy of Queen Nefertiti, said the Holy Grail would be to find a complete preserved body in this country.
The focus is likely to be on burial pits around Thurscoe, near Barnsley.
'More work needs to be done because this is just the tip of the iceberg,' she said. 'Come back in 10 years and we'll have a much better idea.
'Mummies in Yorkshire - how good does it get?'
BARNSLEY
Barnsley is a small town of over 73,000 people in South Yorkshire.
It is between junctions 36 and 38 of the M1 motorway and has a railway station served by the Hallam and *****tone Lines.
Barnsley F.C. - nicknamed the Tykes - is the local football club, which plays in the Championshp, the second tier of English football. The team has spent more time in the second tier of English football than any other team in history.
The first reference to Barnsley occurs in 1086 in the Domesday Book, in which it is called 'Berneslai' and has a population of around 200. The origin of the name Barnsley is subject to debate, but Barnsley Council claims that its origins lie in the Saxon word "Berne", for barn or storehouse, and "Lay, for field.
From the 17th century, Barnsley developed into a stop-off point on the route between Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield and London. The traffic generated as a result of its location fuelled trade, with hostelries and related services prospering. A principal centre for linen weaving during the 18th and 19th century, Barnsley grew into an important manufacturing town. Barnsley has a long tradition of glass-making, but is most famous for its coal mines. George Orwell mentioned the town in The Road to Wigan Pier. He spent a number of days in the town living in the houses of the working class miners while researching for the book. He wrote very critically of the council's expenditure on the construction of Barnsley Town Hall and claimed that the money should have been spent on improving the housing and living conditions of the local miners.
Famous people from Barnsley include cricketing umpire "****ie" Bird, London 2012 bronze medal-winning professional cyclist Ed Clancy, former Yorkshire and England cricketer Darren Gough and heavy metal band Saxon.
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