Online Activities: Ancient Egypt
The Faces of Djed: A CT-scan of a ROM Mummy Illuminates a Life from Ancient Egypt
By Lee-Anne Jack
The diminutive mummy kept her secrets of her life and death wrapped up with her-until last year. That's when modern medicine stepped in to provide the technology to remove electronically her bandages, to peek inside the cartonnage without cutting it open, and to research her remains while preserving the sanctity of the human body, a concept the Egyptians held dear.
Under the direction of ROM curator Dr. Nicholas B. Millet and Dr. Peter Lewin, a paediatrician at the Hospital for Sick Children and researcher of ancient disease, Djedmaatesankh underwent a full-body CT-scan (computerized axial tomography) while still inside her protective case. Lewin's colleague, medical radiation technologist Stephanie Holowka, and imaging specialist Mike Starr took the resulting cross-sectional x-rays and reconstructed them into three-dimensional computer images.
Against the odds, the pictures revealed the probable cause of Djedmaatesankh's death-a 6 horrendous 2.5l cm chronically infected dental cyst in her upper left jaw that had probably burst and poisoned her. The images also showed that, unlike the grim-looking royal mummy of Ramesses III-whose face has been used as the model for villains in many modern horror films-Djed was strikingly handsome.
Looking upon a face from so long ago, a face not unlike that of any other young woman in Egypt today, binds us more personally to history. The satisfaction of being able to put a face to a name has, in a way her Theban relatives probably never could have imagined, given Djedmaatesankh a radiant afterlife. It has landed her dozens of appearances in newspapers and magazines in Canada and abroad and even a cameo part in a recent television commercial.
For the researchers from various disciplines who worked to bring Djedmaatesankh's image to light and helped to write another chapter of her life story, she has become much more than an object in a museum. In some ways, the researchers were touched personally by the experience of turning their skills, normally applied to the pursuits of the modern world, to finding out more about the musician lady of Thebes. Through their intersecting stories, the tale of Djed unfolds.
Mummy-case of Djedmaatesankh, a musician from the temple of Amun-re at Thebes. Egyptian, Late Period, 850 BC. Mummy-case of moulded linen with plaster, paint and gold leaf. L:165 cm.
CT-scan of Djedmaatesankh. X-ray of Djedmaatesankh showing profile of mummy inside cartonnage coffin.
CT-scan of Djedmaatesankh. X-ray of torso of Djedmaatesankh showing artifacts on the body inside the linen wrappings - a large winged amulet, a scarab and a plate over the embalmer's incision.
