Secrets from within the shrouds of three ancient Egyptian mummies, first discovered in 1615, have been revealed for the first time thanks to CT scans. Archaeologists from the Reiss Engelhorn Meuseu, Germany, had to use CT scans to reveal the inside of the plaster coating - rather than risk damaging the remains. They are the only known surviving 'stucco-shrouded portrait mummies' from Saqqara - an ancient Egyptian necropolis - and were first discovered in 1615. CT scans revealed the mummies had been interred with items thought to be useful in the afterlife, including coins designed to pay for passage across the River Styx. All three of the mummies had medical problems, as revealed by the CT scans - from arthritis to a tumour and all of them died at relatively young ages.

Source: Daily Mail November 12, 2020 16:39 UTC