They use 3D tomography to "unwrap" a mummy digitally
The mummified body of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh was studied for the first time in millennia after being digitally "unwrapped."
The mummy of Amenhotep I, who ruled from 1525 to 1504 BC, was found at a site at Deir el-Bahari, the complex of mortuary temples and tombs near the city of Luxor (Egypt), 140 years ago.
But all this time, archaeologists had avoided opening it in order to preserve both the exquisite funerary mask and the bandages. So it was not well known what this pharaoh was like.
Until now.
See the face
CT scans revealed previously unknown information about both the pharaoh and his burial.
"We were able to see the face of the king that has been shrouded for more than 3,000 years," Dr Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at Cairo University Medical School and lead author of the published study, told the BBC. in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.
He said that the first thing that struck him was to see how Amenhotep I's facial features resembled those of his father Ahmose I, the first pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt, with a narrow chin, a small nose and narrow, curly hair and slightly protruding upper teeth.
The researchers also established that Amenhotep I was approximately 169 cm tall and about 35 years old when he died.
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Dr. Saleem said scans showed she was in very good physical condition and in good health at the time of her death, with no signs of injury or disfigurement due to illness.
This suggests that she possibly died as a result of an infection or virus.
The researchers were also able to obtain information about Amenhotep's mummification and burial, including that he was the first pharaoh to have his forearms crossed over his chest and that, unusually, his brain was not removed, something that was part of the ritual of mummification.
They also concluded that his mummy was "lovingly repaired" by priests of the 21st Dynasty, which ruled some four centuries after his death.
Scans showed that the mummy suffered multiple postmortem injuries that were likely inflicted by grave robbers.
From the tomographies some of the repairs made by the priests can be seen, such as fixing the head and neck, which were detached, to the body.
They made it with a resin-treated linen band. They covered a defect in the abdominal wall with another band and placed two amulets underneath, in addition to wrapping the left arm, which was also detached from the body.
Dr Saleem said the 30 amulets and the "exceptional" golden belt with gold beads worn by Amenhotep I disprove theories that priests might have removed their jewelry for later pharaohs to wear.
The priests reburied the mummy of Amenhotep I in the Royal Repository at Deir el-Bahari, the complex of tombs and temples near Luxor, to keep it safe.
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