The anatomy of our ancestors
Oldest Pharaonic mummy from the Museum of Florence finally has a face
Forensic techniques by international scientists, led by LJMU’s Dr Matteo Borrini, have created the facial reconstruction of the oldest preserved mummy in the Egyptian Museum of Florence.
The mummy known as ‘Kent’ was a high ranking person, a dignitary or a priest, of the XVIII dynasty (the same as Tutankhamun and Nefertiti).
A CT scan revealed details that ‘Kent’ was 50 years old when he died and allowed for an exact copy of his skull to be modelled so that the individual muscles of the face could be produced. The bandages of the mummy were never removed. The procedure adopted is a standardised investigative method that Dr Borrini has already used for other reconstructions both archaeological and during his work as a criminal expert.
Dr Borrini devised the anatomy approximation from the skeletal structures of his skull and the reconstruction was revealed at the International Congress of Egyptologists. He commented:
"The research allows us to use the forensic investigation techniques for archaeological purposes to sketch the portrait of men who died millennia ago. The bust I made presents the scientific methodology in a language compatible with the needs of the museum and in harmony with the other artefacts on display.”
Read more about the story in Archaeology News Network.
