Unveiling a Dark Ritual: Why Ancient Egyptians Sacrificed Kittens and Cobras Before Mummification
The specimens were the wrapped corpses of a bird, a cat, and a snake. Although the use of X-ray scans to study ancient mummies has become an exceedingly common practice among archaeologists, the team of researchers in this study used X-ray microcomputed tomography, also called micro CT scanning.
The advantage with this specific technology is that it provides incredibly high-resolution images that are 100 times more detailed than images from a regular medical CT scan. Not only that, but the images also provide a 3D perspective of the subjects. The technology is so sharp that it has enabled the team to examine the mummified animals’ teeth.
“Using micro CT we can effectively carry out a post-mortem on these animals, more than 2000 years after they died in ancient Egypt,” said Richard Johnston, a professor at Swansea University, who led the study.
“These are the very latest scientific imaging techniques. Our work shows how the hi-tech tools of today can shed new light on the distant past.”
Johnston and his team were able to mine significant information about the wrapped-up animals through the incredibly detailed images from the micro CT scans.
“I selected a few samples with varied shapes that would demonstrate the technology, without knowing what we would find at that stage,” Johnston told Gizmodo of his strategy in selecting which specimens to examine.
“Hence selecting a cat, bird, and snake mummy. There are many examples of these mummified animals in museums, and they have been studied through history. We aimed to test the limits of what this technology could reveal that wasn’t possible before.”
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