Secrets of the Rhind Mummy Revealed

Fascinating Mummies

Dr Elena Kranioti worked with National Museums Scotland on the Fascinating Mummies exhibition in 2012. Delighting adults and children alike, the collaborative venture offered an in-depth virtual view inside a popular museum exhibit, the Rhind Mummy.

Dr Kranioti’s expertise allowed for a non-invasive exploration inside the mummy in a way never possible before.

The mummy unwrapped

Excavated from a tomb in Egypt, the mummy was brought to Scotland by archaeologist Alexander Rhind in 1857. Now part of National Museums Scotland’s collection, it is still intact in its original binding.

Dr Kranioti’s research revealed that the mummy was an Egyptian female aged 25 to 29, 5′ 2” tall, dating to around 10 B.C.

A scroll was also discovered in her hand with instructions to help the journey into the afterlife.

Edinburgh expertise

The project initially involved a team led by Professor Edwin van Beek from the University’s Clinical Imaging Research Centre, using a CT scanner. The images formed the basis for Dr Kranioti’s Biomedical Imaging of the skeletal remains within the unwrapped mummy.

Dr Kranioti contributed to this project by providing biological profiling and interpreting CT scans with 3D visual tools.

This allowed for a virtual examination inside the mummy without disturbing it.

Captivating new audiences

The National Museum of Scotland exhibition was well received and visited by more than 62,000 people between February and May 2012.

Two videos were published containing new information about the Rhind Mummy and have been viewed thousands of times. The story also captured the media’s imagination with a number of national and international radio interviews, newspaper and online features.

Dr Kranioti also held sell-out public lectures and workshops during the Edinburgh International Science Festival which stimulated interaction between the research team and members of the public.

New frontiers

The research has been featured in a number of publications and inspired Edinburgh-based company, Holoxica to create a Hologram of the mummy’s skull. This is now part of an exhibition in one of the largest Holography Museums in the world in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Informing medical practice

Dr Kranioti has also spoken at a number of radiology and knowledge exchange events, highlighting her research findings and the potential new avenues it has opened to the field, particularly the value of Medical Imaging Technology in Forensic Anthropology.

Lasting impact

As well as captivating new audiences through an engaging exhibition, Dr Krantioi’s research has, and will continue to have, an impact on the way we investigate historical artefacts using non-invasive methods.