Return to search

A study of a selected group of third intermediate period mummies in the British Museum

Mummies have been considered as 'biologic museums' as they display vital evidence and clues about the life and death of the ancient Egyptian population who lived thousands of years ago. They also hold the secrets of the evolution of disease. The Third Intermediate Period mummies represent the mummification technique at its best. The main aim of this research is to produce a scientific study of the Third Intermediate Period mummies in the British Museum. It attempts to answer some important questions and considers to what extent a detailed radiographic investigation of a group of mummies can provide evidence about disease processes, diet, mummification techniques, funerary and medical practices within that period. Non-invasive techniques were used during this study to investigate a group of seven mummies from the collection of the British Museum. The mummies are encased in cartonnage cases except one mummy which is inside a wooden coffin. The radiological methods (i.e. X-ray radiography and CT scanning) provided new information regarding the manufacturing of cartonnage cases during that period. The detailed radiographs showed aspects of the mummification techniques that were not reported during pervious investigations. A historical account of the Third Intermediate Period was given in chapter one while chapter two provides information regarding the mummification techniques used during this historical period. Chapter three gives information on previous radiological studies and chapter four gives detailed description and photographs of the selected mummies, the subjects of this investigation. Chapter five contains a full description of the methods used during this study and the results and discussions were presented in chapter six. A catalogue with detailed information is attached as an appendix to the thesis to present the physical anthropological data and radiological finds with regards to each mummy from this selected group.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:553372
Date January 2012
CreatorsEladany, Abeer
ContributorsDavid, Rosalie
PublisherUniversity of Manchester
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttps://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/a-study-of-a-selected-group-of-third-intermediate-period-mummies-in-the-british-museum(ffbf2cfd-9f61-4759-aac4-6aff2fab3adb).html

Page generated in 0.0013 seconds