Beta
180748

Visualization, Documentation and Non-Destructive Investigation of an Ancient Egyptian Corn Mummy in a Falcon-shaped Wooden Coffin

Article

Last updated: 25 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

-

Abstract

Corn mummies' were funerary objects in ancient Egypt that were served as sacred images of the god Osiris during the Khoiak feast. They are grain-filled linen sacs, usually filled with an emmer or barley specimen, the ingredients for staple food in ancient Egypt (bread and beer). In the fertility cult of Osiris, the function of Corn mummies was presumably for continuous prosperity of the land and healthy crop growth. This paper focuses on the use of nondestructive methods for the documentation and visual examination of a Corn mummy coffin (No. 1242) dating back to the late period; but its original inscriptions are partially lost. Digital imaging and Reflectance Transformation imaging (RTI) were used to document all surface aspects. D-stretch was used to enhance surface details that were not clearly visible by digital imaging and RTI. Infrared imaging was used to reveal the details of hieroglyphic inscriptions and outline drawings on the wooden coffin. X-ray radiography was used to non-destructively verify the inside contents of the wrapped mummy inside the wooden coffin, and whether it includes any human remains or not. The methods provided a comprehensive documentation and examination of the various parts of the artifact.

DOI

10.21608/arcs.2021.49811.1011

Keywords

Corn Mummy, RTI, D-Stretch, Enhancement, Documentation, X-Ray Radiography

Authors

First Name

Ahmed

Last Name

Tarek

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Conservation Center - Grand Egyptian Museum - Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities - Cairo - Egypt

Email

a_tarek_a@hotmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Ibrahim

Last Name

Ali

MiddleName

A. Mohamed

Affiliation

Conservation Center - Grand Egyptian Museum - Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities - Cairo - Egypt

Email

ibrahimabdel-fattah@hotmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Mohamed

Last Name

Abdelrahman

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Director of Scientific Research, Projects Sector, Ministry of tourism and Antiquities.

Email

mohamedabdelrohman@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

2

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

25940

Issue Date

2021-06-01

Receive Date

2020-11-14

Publish Date

2021-06-29

Page Start

10

Page End

20

Print ISSN

2682-3454

Online ISSN

2682-3462

Link

https://arcs.journals.ekb.eg/article_180748.html

Detail API

https://arcs.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=180748

Order

2

Type

Original Article

Type Code

1,070

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Advanced Research in Conservation Science

Publication Link

https://arcs.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Visualization, Documentation and Non-Destructive Investigation of an Ancient Egyptian Corn Mummy in a Falcon-shaped Wooden Coffin

Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023