A mummy that is part of Yale's collection of Egyptian antiquities may have been the victim of a murder, according to a recent scientific study of the body. The mummy, its cartonnage (death mask) and wooden sarcophagus are among the highlights of the newly restored "Daily Life in Ancient Egypt" exhibit on the third floor of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. The exhibit was recently reopened to the public. As part of the restoration project, the mummy was taken from its sealed display case for cleaning and conservation. Peabody officials took the opportunity to have the mummy x-rayed by researchers at Quinnipiac College's Bioanthropology Research Institute. Because the mummy required special handling, it was photographed at the Peabody with a portable x-ray unit by Quinnipiac scientists Gerald Conlogue and William Hennessey, and students from the college. The radiographs were taken from many angles to reveal as much as possible about the remains inside. By examining the mummy's bones and teeth, the forensic anthropologists from Quinnipiac determined that it was a male who was between 20 and 30 years old at the time of death. Other clues, such as the burial position and the decorations and materials used on the sarcophagus, suggested that the mummy was 2,300 years old, dating from the Ptolemaic Period in Egyptian history, and most likely came from the area around Thebes. The x-rays also revealed the presence of a depression fracture in the back of the skull, along with what appear to be remains of brain tissue. This damage, concluded the researchers, is consistent with an injury caused by a blunt object with a rectangular shape. There was no evidence of healing, suggesting that the injury was fatal, say the scientists. Furthermore, there was evidence that the embalmers had gone through the nasal area, not the back of the skull, to remove the brain during the mummification process -- thereby bolstering the theory that the individual met a violent death, according to the forensic anthropologists. The x-rays also revealed the mummy had a fractured ankle, and showed that the ribs and vertebrae in the upper body were out of position and widely dispersed, suggesting that the mummy had been stored for a long time in an upright position, causing the skeleton to separate. Although the mummy and sarcophagus are decorated with prayers and images of the deities that the Egyptians invoked to aid the dead in their journey to the afterlife, there is no information as to the identity of the mummified individual. In fact, the central column of text on the sarcophagus has been removed -- perhaps, in an effort to erase the name of the deceased, speculate scientists. The translations of these texts -- which were researched by John C. Darnell, assistant professor of Near Eastern languages and civilizations -- are on view in the Peabody exhibit. In 1888 Yale University became one of the first U.S. institutions to collect Egyptian antiquities when it purchased more than 1,000 artifacts from Victor Clay Barringer, a probate court judge in Egypt. The Barringer Collection is still one of the largest segments of the Peabody's Egyptian holdings. Yale also acquired artifacts between 1899 and 1915 as a member of the Egypt Exploration Fund. In the 1960s and 1970s, numerous objects from Nubia and Abydos were given to the University by William Kelly Simpson, Yale professor of Egyptology and codirector of the Pennsylvania-Yale expeditions to Egypt. The recently examined mummy was given to the University's anthropology department in 1938 by Harold Phelps Stokes. Today the Peabody has one of the oldest and most extensive university collections of Egyptian artifacts in the United States, with 4,000 objects ranging in date from the Stone Age to Roman times. The Egyptian Hall, which the Peabody opened in 1983, is one of the museum's most popular attractions. In addition to the reinstallation of the Peabody's mummies, the restoration project for "Daily Life in Ancient Egypt" included new mountings for some of the most famous pieces from Yale's collection of Egyptian antiquities. Renovation of the exhibit was made possible by gifts from the Fusco Corporation and the Marilyn M. and William K. Simpson Endowment. Frank A. Hole, the C.J. MacCurdy Professor of Anthropology and head of the museum's anthropology division, is curator-in-charge of the exhibit. The Peabody Museum of Natural History is located at 170 Whitney Ave. For information on hours and admission, call 432-5050. T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Alumni elect Roland W. 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 X-rays of the Peabody's mummy suggest to scientists that the cause of death may have been a blow to the back of the head with a blunt object.