X-ray scans have finally solved the mystery of how a famous Egyptian mummy came to be placed in an opening-less coffin.
Scientists were able to look inside Lady Chenet-aa’s sarcophagus for the first time and finally understand how she was embalmed 3,000 years ago.
For years, researchers looked for an opening in a cavity and found only a small hole near her feet that would not have been large enough to fit her body.
A lack of visible openings or access points in Chenet-aa’s casket previously prevented researchers from accessing her remains, but new CT scans have cleared up some of the questions that have plagued scientists for decades.
When the team ran the chest through the CT scanner, they got a better look at the bottom, where “you can see there’s a seam running down the back and some laces,” says JP Brown, Senior Conservator of Anthropology.
Researchers at the Field Museum in Chicago estimate that she was in her late thirties or early forties when she died and the detailed efforts to prepare her for the afterlife confirmed that she had a high social status.
The new scans showed that Chenet-aa lived in Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period, during the 22nd Dynasty, and is still in “remarkable condition.”
The team was also able to find out information about her age, diet and how embalmers prepared her for the afterlife.
New CT scans of Lady Chenet-aa have allowed researchers to gain insight into her age, diet and how she was embalmed
The scans created 3D images of Chenet-aa’s body next to a second mummy named Harwa, who was also considered a high-status person at the time.
The researchers studied two of the 26 mummies on display at the Field Museum in September to find out how they were prepared for the afterlife.
Using 3D scanning technology, they took X-rays of the skeletons and artifacts that had been in the coffins for thousands of years.
The most unusual aspect of Lady Chenet-aa’s coffin was the fact that there appeared to be no seams or openings through which embalmers could place her body inside.
However, the 3D scans revealed that instead of the cardboard being constructed around the body, as was common among the ancient Egyptians, the coffin was first made and then softened using moisture so that it was flexible and shaped around Chenet- aa could be formed.
The embalmers placed padding in her trachea so that it would not collapse when she stood upright, while a slit was cut from the top to the bottom of the coffin and placed over her encased body.
After tying the back of the coffin, they placed a wooden panel at her feet and secured it in place to prevent her from moving while they formed the coffin.
“From an archaeological perspective, it’s incredibly rare that you can examine or look at history from the perspective of a single individual,” Drake said.
“This is a really great way for us to look at who these people were – not just the things they made and the stories we made up about them, but the actual individuals who lived at that time.”
The 3D renderings showed artificial eyes being placed in Chenet-aa’s eye sockets and the sons of Horus being placed next to her organs in her body cavity.
The CT scans took three days to complete, but researchers said it could take up to three years before they could fully assess the images
They also noticed that Chenet-aa had been wrapped in layers of expensive linen and placed in a decorated cardboard coffin – a kind of brightly colored frame, similar to papier-mâché, reserved for funerals of the elite.
Unlike other mummies whose internal organs were placed in separate jars with the four sons of Horus on the lids, embalmers for Chenet-aa took a different approach.
Scans showed that in her case, the embalmers prepared packages into which the organs were placed, alongside six wax statues of the sons of Horus that were re-placed into the body cavity.
The four sons of Horus included Imsety, the human-headed god who protected the liver, and Hapy, who had the head of a baboon and protected the lungs.
The second two were identified as Duamutef, which had a jackal head and was designated to protect the stomach, while the falcon head Qebehsenuef protected the intestines.
Images showed she had lost several teeth and the remaining showed signs of significant wear, suggesting her food contained grains of sand that corroded enamel.
It also revealed that the embalmers replaced her eyes with artificial eyes to ensure they did not deteriorate over time.
‘The Ancient Egyptian view of the afterlife corresponds with our ideas about retirement savings. It’s something you prepare for, put money aside all your life and hope that in the end you have enough to really enjoy,” Brown said.
‘The additions are very literal. If you want eyes, there must be physical eyes, or at least a physical allusion to eyes.”
The scans showed that embalmers had threaded Chenet-aa into the coffin instead of molding it around her body.
The researchers also focused on a second mummified individual, known as Harwa, who lived around the same time as Chenet-aa and is believed to have a high social status.
3D images of his spine showed that he had no complaints related to physical work. His well-maintained teeth reflected that he had access to quality food available only to the elites.
The primary goal of their research was to demonstrate that the mummies were people and not just artifacts, the museum said.
“We’re trying to understand them as people so that we can share those stories and insights with the general public to kind of rehumanize and shift the stories to be more respectful and give a little more dignity to these mummified individuals,” Drake shared. CNN.
The scans took about four days, but researchers said a full analysis of their findings could take up to three years.