Archaeology Magazine - November/December 1985 - 47

Insect remains from the Manchester mummies were examined
by electron microscopy. Some of
these attackers seriously endanger the state of preservation
of the mummy. Here an adult
hump spider beetle, Gibbon
psylloides, is magnified 36 times.

part of this exhibition traveled to
the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. In June 1979 an international symposium entitled
"Science in Egyptology" was held
at the University of Manchester.
This provided the first opportunity
for a multi-disciplinary gathering to
meet and discuss the current research and use of modern medical
and scientific techniques in the field
of Egyptology. The second phase of
the Manchester Project developed
from this symposium.
T-his stage of the Manchester
Project, lasting through 1984, concentrated mainly on the development of virtually non-destructive
methods of obtaining new information about mummified remains.
Endoscopy has provided a most acceptable means of non-destructive
examination, and a serological study
has been undertaken to determine
the mummies' blood types. New
material has been obtained through
use of endoscopic techniques, and
new tissue stains of the conventional type as well as new histological stains have been employed.
Endoscopy carried out on the chest
cavities of several mummies has
enabled small pieces of lung to be
removed for study. In addition to
the sand pneumoconiosis seen in one
mummy, the lung biopsy of another
(previously identified as suffering
from the worm infestation, Strongyloides), showed that this woman had
also had hydatid disease, caused by
a tape worm called Ecchinococcus
granulosus . The disease is not a
common problem, but another example was found in the Manchester
collection, in brain tissue samples
taken from one of the detached

mummified heads.
Information about the Manchester mummies, and about other
collections of Egyptian mummies in
public and private institutions
around the world, is now being
stored at Manchester on the International Mummy Data Base. This
computerized base was established
to receive, store, and eventually
make available to scholars information relating to funerary artifacts
associated with mummies and to
patterns of disease and conditions
which affected daily living conditions in ancient Egypt.
Another interesting outcome of
the Manchester research is the way
in which some of the techniques devised for specific use on the mummified remains have been applied to
modern forensic problems. Staff
members from the Fingerprinting
Department of the Greater Manchester Police Force originally became involved in the project to develop a method of obtaining the
fingerprints and toeprints of one of
the mummies. This technique not
only helped to determine the age of
the deceased but also provided information about the person's lifestyle. Subsequently this technique
was introduced into the standard
practices of some police forces in
cases where the customary methods
of fingerprinting were inappropriate
-where cadavers had been severely
charred by fire or mummified by
natural environmental conditions.
Knowledge obtained from the
scientific reconstruction of the
three-dimensional heads of mummies has also been of benefit in
modern plastic surgery. Working
from x-rays, a reconstruction of the
proposed result can be built, giving

the surgeons a three-dimensional
view of their patient's intended appearance before surgery takes place.
As applied to the heads of the Two
Brothers and of Mummy 1770, new
techniques developed from methods
devised in 1898 can produce more or
less accurate representations of the
major features of the head and face.
Such three-dimensional "busts"
have served as models on which
drawings and paintings could then
be based, for purposes of publication and exhibition.
The modern application of
these techniques was featured in
a 1984 award-winning, educational
television film entitled Perspective :
The Mummy 's Blessing. A second
BBC "Chronicle" film showed how
the Manchester studies developed
from 1979 to 1984, and this is also
featured in another book, Evidence
Embalmed. And at the Manchester
Museum, a new Egyptology gallery
illustrates the team's work.
In June 1984, a second symposium on the theme of Science in
Egyptology held at the University
of Manchester gave scholars from
many countries the opportunity to
discuss their work and to consider
how new techniques of investigation
can be introduced. With the new,
virtually non-destructive methods
of examining mummified remains,
future research will be able to amass
new facts about disease and living
conditions in ancient societies, without destroying irreplaceable evidence. Involving specialists from
many disciplines will make it possible to build up from mummified
remains a more accurate picture of
the realities of everyday existence
in early communities than the written evidence alone can provide.
November/December
1985

Archaeology Magazine - November/December 1985

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - November/December 1985