Doctor’s appointment for the hereafter

By studying the iconography and texts on the coffin, the embalming techniques used and comparing them with our knowledge of burial customs in Ancient Egypt, researchers can build up a complete picture of who this once was. Foto: Walter N. Wehus

The researchers found, quite unexpectedly, that Teshemmin’s coffin has a painting in the base, and they have several pieces of evidence that suggest she was wearing a mask. Foto: Walter N. Wehus

Text and photo: Walter N. Wehus

“We hope to find out more about these people; who they were, how they died, what they hoped for in the afterlife, and how they ended up in Bergen,” says research fellow Pål Steiner. CT scanning is an advanced type of X-ray imaging. By irradiating the mummy with many beams of X-rays from different angles, we can build up a 3D image of its body. This allows us to see, for example, if there is anything hidden
behind its bones, something that was not possible with the X-rays taken in the 1970s.

The scans that have just been made are the first phase of what it is hoped will be a bigger project, according to senior lecturer/associate professor Frode Storaas. By studying the iconography and texts on the coffin, the embalming techniques used and comparing them with our knowledge of burial customs in Ancient Egypt, researchers can build up a complete picture of who this once was.

The idea is to compare the new information with what we know about two mummies in the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. The results will be of international interest
when they arrive. In the course of their analysis of the CT scan, the researchers found, quite unexpectedly, that Teshemmin’s coffin has a painting in the base, and they have several pieces of evidence that suggest she was wearing a mask. The mask disappeared long ago, together with parts of her face. She has probably been the victim of sticky-fingered grave-robbers.

The remains of a pearl necklace and several pieces of painted cloth were also found in the coffin. “Teshemmin was older than we thought; an old woman in fact. She is very hunchbacked, and her joints are very worn. It was about time she came for an X-ray,” jokes Storaas. Teshemmin has now been dated to the time of Cleopatra.
The other mummy, whose identity is still unknown, is from the time of Tutankhamon

The article is published in Features 2009/2010

By irradiating the mummy with many beams of X-rays from different angles, we can build up a 3D image of its body. Foto: Walter N. Wehus