Hospital in Italy uses tomograph to discover secrets of Egyptian mummy

Ancient Egypt met modern medical technology when a mummy underwent a CT scan at an Italian hospital as part of a research project to unlock the relic's secrets.

The mummy of Anquefenconsu, an ancient Egyptian priest, was transferred from the Civic Archaeological Museum of Bergamo to the Milan Polyclinic Hospital, where experts will shed light on his life and mortuary customs from almost 3.000 years ago.

“Mummies are practically a biological museum, they are like a time capsule,” said Sabina Malgora, director of the Mummy Research Project.

Malgora said the information about the mummy's name comes from the 900 to 800 BC sarcophagus, where Anquefenconsu — which means “God Consu is alive” — is written five times.

Researchers believe they are able to reconstruct the life and death of the Egyptian priest and understand what types of products were used to mummify the body.

“Studying ancient diseases and wounds is important for modern medical research… we can study cancer or arteriosclerosis from the past, and this could be useful for modern research,” he said. (Reuters)

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