Post by Nubian Zuri* on Jun 24, 2009 8:15:54 GMT -5
Their identities, causes of death and unique burial have been shrouded in mystery for over a century.
But now pioneering teams from different continents have taken a phenomenal glimpse beneath the bindings of two Egyptian mummies on the same day.
These extraordinary images, obtained by museums in New York, U.S. and Sydney Australia using cutting-edge medical technology, reveal minuscule details about the appearance of two bodies and how they have been preserved for around 3,000 years.
These stunning images reveal the secrets of a 3,000-year-old mummy
This unforgettable image from North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, shows the mummy of the Royal Prince, Count of Thebes, as he passes through a CT (computed tomography) scanning machine.
He is one of four mummies belonging to New York's Brooklyn Museum, that range from 1,700 to 3,000 years old, due to be probed with the technique.
Meanwhile, strikingly similar scans emerging from a private clinic in central Sydney have resolved the identity of a mummy belonging to the Nicholson Museum in Sydney that has eluded archeologists for almost 150 years.
The mummy was initially thought to be the remains of a girl but these new CT scan pictures confirm once and for all that it's a boy. And a piece of papyrus hidden in the folds of the remains reveal he was called Horus.
Michael Turner, chief curator at the Nicholson Museum in Sydney, Australia, said: 'The images are amazing. We have learnt more from them than 150 years of study on the remains.
Revelation: CT scans of the mummy's head reveal amazing details of the ancient Egyptian
Cutting edge: Researchers hope to unravel the identities, cause of death and ancient mummification practices using high-tech CT scans
'Horus is 100 per cent male. The papyrus on which his name was written was discovered several years ago but he was mistakenly believed to be a girl. Now, thanks to these pictures, his male organs are clearly visible.
'We can't yet tell how he died but with advances in technology that might be possible in the next few years.'
Dr Margaret Stewart and her team at the Central Sydney Imaging private clinic, which took the images with a GBP1m CT (Computerised Tomography) Scanner, said: 'It was the first time we used the scanner on a mummy. I was so impressed with the condition of the remains.
'The bones were in the same state as when the boy died. It's even possible to see the tiny ossicles in the middle ear, which are the smallest bones in the human body.
'I'm amazed at the ability of the ancient Egyptians to preserve the body in such a way. Even now it would be incredibly difficult to do such a thing.'
Detailed: Forensic Egyptologist Janet Davey believes further studies will reveal that the body was covered in a thin layer of gold
What's inside... The mummy of the Royal Prince, Count of Thebes, belonging to New York's Brooklyn Museum, is scanned at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York today
Janet Davey, a Sydney-based forensic Egyptologist who has studied the mummy and the images, said: 'The pictures are incredible. The detail is amazing and the technology is cutting edge.
'They help study the mummy without touching it and deteriorating its condition.
'Horus was thought for many years to be a young girl called Horuth until the name on the papyrus was re-translated.
'He was obviously from a wealthy family who could afford a state-of-the-art mummification process.
'From the pictures it is possible to see that his brain was removed, most likely through the nose.
'I expect that further studies may reveal a thin layer of gold painted on his body. This would reflect the family's wealth and status.
'I hope more mummies can be studied in the same way. It would be fascinating to see other pictures of this type.'
Hospital and museum employees wheel the mummy of the Royal Prince, Count of Thebes, one of four Egyptian mummies belonging to New York's Brooklyn Museum
The mummy dates from the second century AD and is originally from Thebes, once a city on the banks of the River Nile about 500 miles south of the Mediterranean.
After dying, the boy would have been washed and cleaned with aromatic oils. His internal organs would have been removed and the body would have been placed in salt to dry it out. Afterward it would be wrapped in bandages.
The circumstances of its discovery are a mystery but it was bought in Europe by Sir Charles Nicholson, then the chancellor of Sydney University, in the 1850s when he underwent a 'shopping' expedition to purchase antiquities.
He eventually bought more than 1,000 items, which became the foundation collection of the University of Sydney's the Nicholson Museum.
Each CT scan picture takes about 20 seconds to complete. The machine, which revolves around the subject, takes 64 images a second, each less than a millimetre apart.
A computer then constructs the 3D-style image by layering each scan on top of the other, like pieces of sliced bread.
But now pioneering teams from different continents have taken a phenomenal glimpse beneath the bindings of two Egyptian mummies on the same day.
These extraordinary images, obtained by museums in New York, U.S. and Sydney Australia using cutting-edge medical technology, reveal minuscule details about the appearance of two bodies and how they have been preserved for around 3,000 years.
These stunning images reveal the secrets of a 3,000-year-old mummy
This unforgettable image from North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, shows the mummy of the Royal Prince, Count of Thebes, as he passes through a CT (computed tomography) scanning machine.
He is one of four mummies belonging to New York's Brooklyn Museum, that range from 1,700 to 3,000 years old, due to be probed with the technique.
Meanwhile, strikingly similar scans emerging from a private clinic in central Sydney have resolved the identity of a mummy belonging to the Nicholson Museum in Sydney that has eluded archeologists for almost 150 years.
The mummy was initially thought to be the remains of a girl but these new CT scan pictures confirm once and for all that it's a boy. And a piece of papyrus hidden in the folds of the remains reveal he was called Horus.
Michael Turner, chief curator at the Nicholson Museum in Sydney, Australia, said: 'The images are amazing. We have learnt more from them than 150 years of study on the remains.
Revelation: CT scans of the mummy's head reveal amazing details of the ancient Egyptian
Cutting edge: Researchers hope to unravel the identities, cause of death and ancient mummification practices using high-tech CT scans
'Horus is 100 per cent male. The papyrus on which his name was written was discovered several years ago but he was mistakenly believed to be a girl. Now, thanks to these pictures, his male organs are clearly visible.
'We can't yet tell how he died but with advances in technology that might be possible in the next few years.'
Dr Margaret Stewart and her team at the Central Sydney Imaging private clinic, which took the images with a GBP1m CT (Computerised Tomography) Scanner, said: 'It was the first time we used the scanner on a mummy. I was so impressed with the condition of the remains.
'The bones were in the same state as when the boy died. It's even possible to see the tiny ossicles in the middle ear, which are the smallest bones in the human body.
'I'm amazed at the ability of the ancient Egyptians to preserve the body in such a way. Even now it would be incredibly difficult to do such a thing.'
Detailed: Forensic Egyptologist Janet Davey believes further studies will reveal that the body was covered in a thin layer of gold
What's inside... The mummy of the Royal Prince, Count of Thebes, belonging to New York's Brooklyn Museum, is scanned at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York today
Janet Davey, a Sydney-based forensic Egyptologist who has studied the mummy and the images, said: 'The pictures are incredible. The detail is amazing and the technology is cutting edge.
'They help study the mummy without touching it and deteriorating its condition.
'Horus was thought for many years to be a young girl called Horuth until the name on the papyrus was re-translated.
'He was obviously from a wealthy family who could afford a state-of-the-art mummification process.
'From the pictures it is possible to see that his brain was removed, most likely through the nose.
'I expect that further studies may reveal a thin layer of gold painted on his body. This would reflect the family's wealth and status.
'I hope more mummies can be studied in the same way. It would be fascinating to see other pictures of this type.'
Hospital and museum employees wheel the mummy of the Royal Prince, Count of Thebes, one of four Egyptian mummies belonging to New York's Brooklyn Museum
The mummy dates from the second century AD and is originally from Thebes, once a city on the banks of the River Nile about 500 miles south of the Mediterranean.
After dying, the boy would have been washed and cleaned with aromatic oils. His internal organs would have been removed and the body would have been placed in salt to dry it out. Afterward it would be wrapped in bandages.
The circumstances of its discovery are a mystery but it was bought in Europe by Sir Charles Nicholson, then the chancellor of Sydney University, in the 1850s when he underwent a 'shopping' expedition to purchase antiquities.
He eventually bought more than 1,000 items, which became the foundation collection of the University of Sydney's the Nicholson Museum.
Each CT scan picture takes about 20 seconds to complete. The machine, which revolves around the subject, takes 64 images a second, each less than a millimetre apart.
A computer then constructs the 3D-style image by layering each scan on top of the other, like pieces of sliced bread.
