Scanning technique reveals writing on mummy cases

By scanning artefacts such as scrolls of papyri and ancient Egyptian containers for the mummies with different kinds of light which makes the inks glow, researchers have revealed writing that is normally unseen to the human eye.

Writing on a mummy case revealed (by BBC News)

The decorated boxes into which the wrapped body of the deceased was placed in ancient Egypt were often made from scraps of papyrus which were used by ancient Egyptians for shopping lists or tax returns. The writing on them is often obscured by the paste and plaster that holds the mummy cases together. The newly developed scanning technique by University College London leaves the cases intact and allows historians to read what is on the papyrus. According to Adam Gibson who led the study, one of the first successes was the discovery of writing on the footplate of a mummy case kept at a museum at Chiddingstone castle in Kent. The scan revealed a name “Irethorru” – a common name in Egypt, which meant “the eye of Horus is against my enemies“.

Mummy mask being scanned (by BBC News)

(after BBC News)

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