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For nearly a century, Egyptian mummies remained unharmed during X-ray examination.
In the findings outlined in the Journal of the Royal Society on Tuesday, the team of researchers described using a combination of CT scan and X-ray diffraction for the first time, revealing clues to the ancient corpse lying inside.
What experts from Northwestern University, Argonne National Laboratory, and Denver’s Metropolitan State University found on the body, believed to belong to a five-year-old boy, surprised them.
“This opaque object is just the right shape for a beetle,” said Stock.
“The scarab is the symbol of rebirth.”
The object provides further clues to the mummy’s social status – although not real, “this person was at the top of society” if such pure material was used in their burial, Stock said.
“They could afford a scarab and a mummification, which required an enormous amount of resources,” he said.
A study of the body also showed that the girl, believed to be a girl, did not endure a violent end.
“There appears to be no skeletal trauma,” Stock said.
“We don’t know why this baby died.”
A portrait attached to the mummy also reveals further clues to its occupant, with the hairstyle depicted tracing the mummy to between AD 150 and 200.
Experts believe the technique could be used for further studies of the mummies, providing further clues to the object buried alongside the ancient corpses, without the need to disturb and tamper with the bodies.
“Back then (in the Victorian era), they would have taken them apart,” Stock told CNN.
“We don’t like doing it anymore.”
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