Dec 29, 2021 13:05:00

When you digitally open the mummy 'Amenhotep I' about 3500 years ago and scan the contents, it looks like this

The mummy of Amenhotep I , the second pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt, which existed about 3500 years ago, is the only mummy of the Egyptian royal family that has been left in a coffin and has not been opened. It is on display. An attempt was made to take a 3D tomography of the contents of Amenhotep I's mummy.

Frontiers | Digital Unwrapping of the Mummy of King Amenhotep I (1525–1504 BC) Using CT | Medicine
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.778498/full

Scientists digitally'unwrap' mummy of pharaoh Amenhotep I for the first time in 3,000 years
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-scientists-digitally-unwrap-mummy-pharaoh.html

Egyptian pharaoh's mummified body gives up its secrets after 3,500 years | Egyptology | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/dec/28/egyptian-pharaohs-mummified-body-gives-up-its-secrets-after-3500-years

Amenhotep I was a pharaoh who ruled ancient Egypt from 1525 BC to 1504 BC and died at the age of 35. Amenhotep I's mummy was discovered in 1881 by French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero and others from the 21st dynasty tomb in Luxor, Egypt. The tomb of Amenhotep I was grave robbed around 1000 BC, and it is believed that only the mummy was placed in the tomb of Luxor. The mummy of Amenhotep I has never been opened since it was discovered in 1881, and the only mummy associated with the ancient Egyptian royal family had not been investigated in detail.

The 3D tomography of Amenhotep I's mummy was done by a research team led by Sahar Salim, a radiologist at Cairo University School of Medicine. Salim et al. Succeeded in non-invasively investigating the mummy of Amenhotep I by taking a CT scan and overlaying the tomographic photographs.

The following is a tomographic photograph of the mummy's head taken by CT scan.

And below is a 3D photo of the top of the casket seen from the side.

A scan revealed that Amenhotep I was about 169 cm tall, circumcised, and had clean teeth. I also found that 30 amulets and a golden girdle with gold beads were wrapped under the cloth that wraps the body. It was thought that this girdle had 'a role to help the deceased king in the afterlife'. The golden chains in the image below are the beads on the girdle.

It was also found that Amenhotep I's mummy had a fracture in the neck, a cut in the head, a large defect in the abdomen, and a severed right hand and right leg. It is suspected that these wounds were once inflicted when the tomb was grave robbed.

From this, Mr. Saleem said, 'At least for the mummy of Amenhotep I, the priests of the 21st dynasty lovingly repaired the wounds from the tomb vandalism and restored the mummy to its former brilliance. It shows that it was preserved as it was, along with stunning gems and amulets. '