Researchers are using a high-energy particle accelerator to peer inside the remains of an ancient Egyptian mummy, which contains the body of a young girl.
The Hibbard mummy is being examined to determine the “quality of her bones and what material is present in her brain cavity,” the university stated in a news release on Nov. 27.
“This is a unique experiment, a 3-D puzzle,” said Stuart R. Stock, research professor of cell and molecular biology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in the news release. “We have some preliminary findings about the various materials, but it will take days before we tighten down the precise answers to our questions.”
The mummy is of Roman-Egyptian origin, and it is among 100 “portrait mummies” in the world, meaning, they have a painting of the dead individual in the mummy wrappings over the person’s face.
The CT scan revealed that a small object was wrapped against the child’s stomach.
“The shards within the skull do not show any evidence of crystallinity,” Stock told the broadcaster. “I am inclined to think the shards are something noncrystalline like solidified pitch.”
“It’s a person who has been prepared for burial in a very specific and very careful way to ensure a successful afterlife,” Dill added. “Learning that through this project and this class has been very humbling and touching.”
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