ARISH: Experts have reconstructed the face of an ancient Egyptian priest using cutting edge forensic techniques.
The mummy, called Kent, lived during the XVIII Dynasty and may have witnessed the reigns of Tutankhamen or Nefertiti. A CT scan of the mummy revealed that the man was around aged around 50 years when he died.
Dr Matteo Borrini, forensic anthropologist and lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, applied forensic techniques on the remains to reconstruct the features of the mummy.
Scanning allowed scientists to create an exact copy of the skull without disturbing the fragile bandages that hold the remains together.
The scan also allowed individual muscles of the face to be reproduced.
Experts believe the mummy, which is the oldest at the Egyptian Museum of Florence, was a high ranking person and probably a dignitary or a priest.
Dr Borrini calculated the shape of the face by cross-referencing the skeletal structures of the skull. His reconstruction was revealed at the International Congress of Egyptologists.
He said: ‘The research allows us to use 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.’
The hair, that could not be approximated from any anatomical remains, were designed by Dr Borrini in collaboration with Professor Donatella Lippi from the University of Florence and the Director of the Egyptian Museum Dr Maria Cristina Guidotti.
They took both the dynasty and the social status of the mummy into account when coming up with the style.
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