Title

Backroom Treasures: CT Scanning of Two Ibis Mummies from the Peabody Museum Collection

Authors

Andrew D. Wade, The University of Western OntarioFollow
Salima Ikram, American University in Cairo
Gerald Conlogue, Quinnipiac University
Ronald Beckett, Quinnipiac University
Andrew J. Nelson, The University of Western OntarioFollow
Roger Colten, Peabody Museum of Natural History

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

6-2011

Abstract

Museum collections of Egyptian human and animal mummies have great potential for research and museums often curate larger collections than those on exhibit. Scheduling access for medical imaging projects is often complicated for mummies on display because of the important environmental controls under which they are kept. Consequently, collections in storage are often more numerous and more readily available, in terms of time and physical access, than those on exhibit.

Application of computed tomography (CT) to the study of mummified remains allows for detailed three-dimensional evaluations, without the difficulties of superimposition that characterise plain film radiographs. Three-dimensional visualisation, multi-planar reformats (MPR), maximum intensity projections (MIP), and curve-linear reconstructions of these mummies were especially valuable for close examination of the complex curves of the spine and the contents of the gizzard. These manipulations are no less important in the study of animal mummies than they are in those of humans.

Notes

Poster presentation at the 7th World Mummy Congress held in San Diego, CA in June 2011