Forensic experts have recreated the face of the “Mysterious Lady,” a 2,000-year-old mummy.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries it was assumed to be male.

A team of researchers from Poland has reconstructed the face of the “Mysterious Lady,” a 2,000-year-old ancient Egyptian mummy who may have been pregnant when she died.

With the help of forensic experts, her face was reconstructed based on the shape and features of the skull, which provide clues about her possible appearance.

Our bones, and in particular the skull, provide a lot of information about a person's face. Although it cannot be considered an exact portrait, the skull, like many anatomical parts, is unique and exhibits a range of shapes and proportions that will partially appear in the final face.

Chantal Milani is a forensic anthropologist and contributor to the IFLScience project.

Images of the "Mysterious Lady" face were recently presented as part of an exhibition at the Silesian Museum in Katowice, Poland.

The mummy is known as the “Mysterious Lady” for good reason. The body was discovered in the royal tombs of Thebes and most likely belonged to a woman 20-30 years old who died in the 1st century BC. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, it was assumed that this mummy belonged to a male priest. However, subsequent work showed that it was in fact a woman.

Then came another discovery: X-rays and CT scans of the embalmed body revealed the presence of a mass in the mummified woman's lower abdomen, leading some researchers to conclude that the woman was pregnant.

However, the study was not without controversy. Some other scientists have argued that this is not enough to substantiate this bold claim. Nevertheless, the Warsaw project sticks to its version and continues to insist that this is indeed the world's first pregnant mummy.