A series of X-ray scans has at last solved the mystery of how the famous ancient Egyptian mummy, seemingly sealed with no entry point, was placed inside its coffin. Using a mobile CT scanner, researchers generated 3D images by digitally layering thousands of X-rays. This allowed them to closely examine the cartonnage and uncover the method used by funerary attendants to position Lady Chenet-aa inside.
It was the first time the mummy had been subjected to this noninvasive examination, and the findings may revise our understanding of the mummification process in Ancient Egypt. “It is an amazing discovery,” says Egyptologist Dr. Saleem, who conducted the scanning. CT technology allows us to see inside the coffin without destroying it or disturbing the original material.”
Out of the over dozen Egyptian mummies housed in Chicago’s Field Museum, the one of an aristocrat called Lady Chenet-aa, who lived 3,000 years ago, stands out in particular due to her strange burial procedure. Soon after her death, her body seems to have been prepared for the afterlife by being enclosed in a peculiar-shaped box with no hint of an entry point, a problem that has puzzled scholars since she was excavated back in 1881.
The latest research by the team of experts led by Dr Saleem suggests that the sexy lady was kept upright after her death. The cartonnage was softened with humidity until it could be shaped around her, and a slit was made at the back from head to foot that opened up as the wrapped body was lowered down into the coffin. A seam and wood panel pegged in at the feet then kept everything together for all these years.
Other discoveries from the scans revealed that the woman was in her 30s or early 40s when she died. She also appears to have lost some of her teeth because the food she ate in her lifetime contained grains of sand that were tough on enamel. In a final act of preparation, the mummy had supplementary eyes put in her eye sockets so they would come with her to the afterlife.
Scans have also shed light on how several other influential mummies were buried and preserved. One of them is the pharaoh Seqenenre of the 17th Dynasty, who was killed in a battle with the Hyksos. Another is Ramses III of the 20th Dynasty, who was murdered by harem conspirators so that his daughter Pentawer could become queen instead of her legal heir, King Tutankhamun. These mummies are also being studied with the help of the new scanner.
The technique has also enabled researchers to take a closer look at the famous mummy of boy king Tutankhamun, whose skull has always shown signs of damage that have prompted speculation about how he died. Previous theories have ranged from a blow to the head to a crack caused by a violent sneeze during mummification. But the latest X-ray analysis of his skull shows that a knock probably caused a crack and is not an indication of a violent impact that would have damaged or dislodged a hard object.