All of Egypt's royal mummies will get identity checks after scientists found one was wrongly identified as a Pharaoh, the chief Egyptian archaeologist said. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, said he would use computed tomography, or CT scanning, and DNA to test more than 40 royal mummies at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
In June, the mummy long thought to have been King Tuthmosis I was found to be a young man who died from an arrow wound, Hawass said. History showed Tuthmosis I died in his 60s.
"I am now questioning all the mummies," he said. "We have to check them all again. The new technology now will reconfirm or identify anything for us."
The Egyptian Museum has had CT scanning equipment for just two years and its first DNA laboratory was installed in April.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Egypt's royal mummies to get identity checks
International Herald Tribune
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2 comments:
They are quite excited with their new gear! :)
I'm sceptical about Dr. Hawass' claim that T1 was a man in his 60s when he died. What evidence is there for that?
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