CT scan

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to take part in the scanning of a female mummy from ancient Egypt, and to take photos to document the experience. This young girl was only around 25 at the age of death, and survived in relative peace for thousands of years. In the last century, however, she's been used as a bargaining tool by the Germans, survived attacks by torpedos and fires, and even suffered physical traumas.

This Wednesday the long awaited results of the DNA research on King Tut's mummy - and some of his possible family members - will be announced at a press conference with Egyptian Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni and Dr. Zahi Hawass. They will announce new discoveries surrounding the family of Tutankhamun and the cause of the young king's death.

The study on the family of Tutankhamun (keep an eye on all things Tut on our dedicated page) was conducted through the Egyptian Mummy Project (EMP) headed by Dr. Zahi Hawass, and a team composed of Egyptian scientists from the National Research Center, members from the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University, and two German DNA specialists.

Following all the doubt and controversy surrounding claims that the Bust of Nefertiti is a fake, I would like to present my case and say why I believe the bust, now housed in the Neues Museum in Berlin, is an original.

He’s the most famous figure in ancient Egyptian history, but there’s still plenty of mystery surrounding King Tut. Who better to clear up a few of them for us than Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities?

Scientists discovered that the ancient Egyptians suffered from - what we often consider to be modern day - heart diseases too. Hardening of the arteries has been detected in Egyptian mummies, some as old as 3,500 years, suggesting that the factors causing heart attack and stroke are not only modern ones; they afflicted ancient people, too.

"Atherosclerosis is ubiquitous among modern day humans and, despite differences in ancient and modern lifestyles, we found that it was rather common in ancient Egyptians of high socio-economic status living as much as three millennia ago," says professor of cardiology Dr. Gregory Thomas.

First they perfected chocolate, then the penknife.  Now the Swiss are seeking to unlock the mysteries of mummification. 

According to a recent article in The Journal of Turkish Weekly ("Swiss Research Unlocks Mummy Secrets"), “A leading Swiss anatomy expert has managed to mummify a body part using the same salt drying process the ancient Egyptians employed.”  Frank Rühli, head of the Zurich University Institute of Anatomy, is attempting to mummify a human leg.  Having participated in the CT scan analysis of Tutankhamun and the Ötzi iceman, Rühli is no stranger to mummies.

It's not often radiographers CT scan a 2,500-year-old patient - but that's exactly what experts at London's City University have been giving an Egyptian mummy this week. The team hailed their patient's good behaviour during the process; a Luxor-based girl called Tahemaa, who died at around 28 years of age. And despite admitting the experience was rather odd, senior lecturer in radiography Jayne Morgan was astounded at the state of her ancient subject.