Hidden contents of 6 ancient Egyptian coffins, sealed for thousands of years, revealed

Scientists used neutron tomography to look inside six sealed ancient Egyptian coffins used to bury animals.

For thousands of years, six ancient Egyptian coffins were sealed from the outside world, unknown inside. Now, scientists have used technology to peer inside the coffins, now housed at the British Museum in London, for the first time since burial, revealing the mummified remains of several animals. animals, including a complete lizard skull.

The coffins range in length from about 2 inches (50 mm) to 12 inches (300 mm) and date from mid-664 BC. and 250 BC, were excavated at the ancient cities of Naukratis (also spelled Naucratis) and Tell el-Yehudiyeh (or Tell el-Yehudiyah) in 1885. They were constructed of copper compounds and shaped like a lizard. lizards, eels and cobras on the outside. . (The origin of two of the coffins is unknown.)

One of the boxes features a crowned half-eel, half-cobra creature that may be related to Atum, an ancient Egyptian primordial god. The ornate images allude to the contents of the boxes, revealed in a study published Thursday (April 20) in the journal Scientific Reports.

Because the coffin is made of metal, the scientists used a method called neutron tomography – a non-invasive technology that, unlike x-rays, is not affected by metal – to look at inside the coffin for the first time since their funeral.

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Inside a coffin, scans revealed the intact skull of a lizard “similar to a group of wall lizards” whose species is found in North Africa to this day. Two other coffins contained animal bones wrapped in cloth, possibly linen, according to a statement. Lead author Daniel O’Flynn, an X-ray imaging scientist, told Live Science at the British Museum: “Although animal burials were common in ancient Egypt, coffin-making still remains. sealing is quite rare”. “Because these boxes are metal, it’s very difficult to see through with X-rays, so what we were able to do with this study is look inside a small group of coffins using neutrons. This is the first time we’ve been able to confirm for these objects in the British Museum that there were in fact animal carcasses inside.”

In addition to the bones, the scientists found lead in three coffins; The metal may have been used to distribute weight during the burial or to fix a hole in one side of one of the coffins. The outside of some boxes is also fixed with a buckle, which can be used to hang them on the walls of temples or shrines or to carry them during religious processions, the statement said.

“Lead is an interesting finding,” says O’Flynn. “We found a lot of lead in the three boxes. We’re not sure what his purpose was. It could be something completely real. But another explanation is that he could be included because of his status in ancient Egypt as a magical material, and we know from previous research that lead was used to protect mummies as well as in charms and love curses .”

The study could not determine whether the animals were sacrificed.

“They may have been sacrificed,” O’Flynn said, “but they could also have been sacrifices to the gods.”