Several researchers are using the latest imaging technology on an Egyptian mummy to reveal the secrets of the ancient world, including whether a mysterious package in her body was an offering to the gods to ensure a better life in the afterlife.
High-resolution tests conducted on Thursday Quinnipiac University could also determine the age when she died and whether she gave birth during her lifetime, the researchers said.
“It (the scan) will give us a fantastic view of the mummy,” said Ronald Beckett, co-director of the Research Institute of Bioanthropology Quinnipiac. “Each mummy has a story to tell. Every piece of information helps us understand the ancient Egyptians.”
The mummy, known as Pa-Ib and approximately 4,000 years old, has been at the Barnum Museum since the late nineteenth century.
Thursday will be transported in a coffin, escorted by police from the museum campus in North Haven.
A powerful scanner will image to be eight times the resolution of tests on the mummy in 2006. A small camera will also be inserted inside the mummy.
Investigators are trying to determine if some kind of package in the abdomen and pelvis areas containing the mummy of a bird or if it’s organs. Preliminary tests led to debate whether it was the mummy of a bird.
Lorelei Corcoran, director of the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archeology of Memphis, said that if the mummy contains a small bird, that would be “highly unusual”.
“We give another example of this fascinating phenomenon that is to bring a gift to yourself to life after death,” said the expert.