CAIRO: American researchers are using the most recent imaging technology on an Egyptian mummy in an attempt to try to unlock secrets of the ancient world, including if a mysterious packet inside the mummy was an offering to the gods with the goal of securing a place in the afterlife. The high-resolution testing Thursday at Quinnipiac University, in Connecticut, may also determine the age at which the female mummy may have died and whether she gave birth, researchers say. “It really is going to give us a fantastic view of this mummy,” said Ronald Beckett, co-director of the Bioanthropology Research Institute at Quinnipiac in comments carried by media. “Every mummy has a story to tell. Every piece of information adds to our understanding of the ancient Egyptians.” The mummy, known as Pa-Ib and believed to be about 4,000 years old, has been in the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport since the 1890s and was a prized exhibit of the flamboyant showman P.T. Barnum. It will be transported Thursday in a coffin complete with a police escort from the museum to the university's campus in North Haven. A CT scanner will take images that are eight times the resolution of tests done in 2006, and a tiny camera will be inserted inside the mummy. Researchers are trying to determine if bundles in the abdomen and pelvis cavities contain a bird mummy or are organs. The earlier tests led to speculation that the bundles might contain a bird mummy. The woman could have been a servant but probably didn't do a lot of manual labor, given the condition of her joints, said Gerald Conlogue, co-director of the Bioanthropology Research Institute at Quinnipiac. The embalming process also appeared rushed, further evidence that the woman was not royalty, Conlogue said. Researchers believe the woman was 30 to 40 years old when she died. Based on the new tests, they're leaning closer to 30. Researchers also are trying to figure out whether the woman ever gave birth, because earlier tests showed evidence of arthritis in the pelvic area, which is common with women who have given birth. Conlogue offered no definitive answer Thursday, but said wrappings put on tightly could change the position of bones. The tests did not determine a cause of death, but researchers were looking at possible signs of a calcium buildup in one of the packets that could suggest an infection. BM
