Mummies and archaeology

“CT enables a sort of virtual autopsy in which specific cultural practices (e.g. artificial deformation of the skull, mummification techniques) can be determined and key questions asked about the age and gender of the individual, as well as about illnesses, injuries, medical interventions or cause of death. In addition, CT data can serve as a starting point for further steps, for instance a facial reconstruction based on a digital skull model, or a CT-controlled biopsy to extract a sample for further analysis.”

Stefanie Zesch, Egyptologist, Reiss Engelhorn Museums, Mannheim, 2020