Two sarcophagi burial containers from Ancient Egypt underwent CT scans at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem as part of a study on how artists designed the elaborate coffins to bury mummified bodies, according to local media.
"In order to understand what’s hidden under the artwork, there are two options. We can remove the artwork, which we don’t want to do, or we can conduct a CT scan, and through that, see what is happening underneath it," Nir Or Lev, curator of Egyptian Archeology at the Israel Museum, told the press.
The older sarcophagus, which arrived at the Israeli hospital, was nearly 3,000 years old, and belonged to a woman named Jed-Mot, a ceremonial singer of the ancient god Amun-Ra. The other, dating from the 7th to 4th centuries BC, belonged to Petah Hotep, an Egyptian nobleman, the researchers said.
The scan of the lids, made from sycamore wood and decorated with hieroglyphics and pictures, allowed the researchers to reveal the craftsmanship of the ancient artisans.
"Through the scan, we identified cavities in the wood that were filled with plaster as part of the preparation for the decoration of the coffins, as well as various parts that were cast entirely from plaster and were not carved directly on the wood," Nir Or Lev explained.
Shlomi Hazan, the chief radiologist at Shaare Zedek, added that the scan revealed three-dimensional reconstructions made on sections, which will help the team "discover the composition of various materials."
The full results of the study, which will become available in a few weeks, will give a fuller picture of the culture of Ancient Egypt, the study of which is also supplemented by archeologists.
Earlier this month, Italian scientists discovered burnt animal remains which appear to have been sacrifices to the goddess Isis during excavations in Pompeii, modern-day Italy.