Neutron tomography of sealed copper alloy animal coffins from ancient Egypt. 2023

Daniel O'Flynn, and Anna Fedrigo, and Laura Perucchetti, and Aurélia Masson-Berghoff
Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG, UK. DOFlynn@britishmuseum.org.

Animal mummification was commonplace in ancient Egypt, with the remains of many animals placed inside statues or votive boxes with representations of animals or hybrid human-animal creatures. Votive boxes were made from a variety of materials and often sealed; some boxes are still preserved in this state in museum collections. A prior study of sealed copper alloy votive boxes from the collection of the British Museum used X-ray computed tomography to search for animal remains, where poor image quality resulted due to attenuation from the boxes and apparent dense metals inside. In this study, neutron tomography was applied to six of the votive boxes previously examined. Animal remains, likely from lizards, and fragments of textile wrappings were discovered inside three of the boxes. Evidence of the manufacturing process and subsequent repairs of the boxes were uncovered by neutrons. Significant quantities of lead were also identified in three boxes. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of neutron tomography for the study of mummified remains inside sealed metal containers, and give evidence linking the animal figures represented on top of votive boxes to the concealed remains.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009106 Mummies Bodies preserved either by the ancient Egyptian technique or due to chance under favorable climatic conditions. Mummy
D003300 Copper A heavy metal trace element with the atomic symbol Cu, atomic number 29, and atomic weight 63.55. Copper-63,Copper 63
D004534 Egypt A country in northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula Its capital is Cairo. Arab Republic of Egypt,United Arab Republic
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000071298 Body Remains The physical entity of a deceased human or animal. Animal Remains,Human Remains,Skeletal Remains,Remains, Animal,Remains, Body,Remains, Human,Remains, Skeletal
D000076144 Egypt, Ancient A civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in the area of Egypt. It was active from 3100 B.C. until its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. Ancient Egypt
D000497 Alloys A mixture of metallic elements or compounds with other metallic or metalloid elements in varying proportions. Alloy
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D014057 Tomography, X-Ray Computed Tomography using x-ray transmission and a computer algorithm to reconstruct the image. CAT Scan, X-Ray,CT Scan, X-Ray,Cine-CT,Computerized Tomography, X-Ray,Electron Beam Computed Tomography,Tomodensitometry,Tomography, Transmission Computed,X-Ray Tomography, Computed,CAT Scan, X Ray,CT X Ray,Computed Tomography, X-Ray,Computed X Ray Tomography,Computerized Tomography, X Ray,Electron Beam Tomography,Tomography, X Ray Computed,Tomography, X-Ray Computer Assisted,Tomography, X-Ray Computerized,Tomography, X-Ray Computerized Axial,Tomography, Xray Computed,X Ray Computerized Tomography,X Ray Tomography, Computed,X-Ray Computer Assisted Tomography,X-Ray Computerized Axial Tomography,Beam Tomography, Electron,CAT Scans, X-Ray,CT Scan, X Ray,CT Scans, X-Ray,CT X Rays,Cine CT,Computed Tomography, Transmission,Computed Tomography, X Ray,Computed Tomography, Xray,Computed X-Ray Tomography,Scan, X-Ray CAT,Scan, X-Ray CT,Scans, X-Ray CAT,Scans, X-Ray CT,Tomographies, Computed X-Ray,Tomography, Computed X-Ray,Tomography, Electron Beam,Tomography, X Ray Computer Assisted,Tomography, X Ray Computerized,Tomography, X Ray Computerized Axial,Transmission Computed Tomography,X Ray Computer Assisted Tomography,X Ray Computerized Axial Tomography,X Ray, CT,X Rays, CT,X-Ray CAT Scan,X-Ray CAT Scans,X-Ray CT Scan,X-Ray CT Scans,X-Ray Computed Tomography,X-Ray Computerized Tomography,Xray Computed Tomography
D049690 History, Ancient The period of history before 500 of the common era. Ancient History,Ancient History (Medicine),Ancient History of Medicine,History of Medicine, Ancient,Medicine, Ancient History,Ancient Histories (Medicine),Ancient History Medicine,Ancient History Medicines,Histories, Ancient (Medicine),History Medicine, Ancient,History Medicines, Ancient,History, Ancient (Medicine),Medicine Ancient History,Medicines, Ancient History

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