In a remarkable diversion from England’s grotesque fascination with mummified remains and ways to violate them, researchers were able to discern the species of animal remains preserved for more than 2,500 years in ancient Egyptian votive boxes (interchangeable with “animal coffins”) from the British Museum’s collection without even opening them. The British Museum and Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) research team were able to identify mummified animals from six sealed metal votive boxes through the application of neutron tomography after a preliminary study gave very cloudy x-ray results.
The process of neutron tomography is quite similar to that of X-ray radiography: a beam of neutrons is projected onto the sample in question, dissipating as it passes through the materials of the sample composition to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional renderings of its interior. However, compared to X-ray radiography, neutron tomography is better implemented when the samples in question are metal – which is why it was used for a secondary analysis of the six cast copper alloy votive boxes of ancient Egypt.
THE the research team determined that three of the six votive boxes probably contained mummified lizards from the Mesaline variety endemic to North Africa. This was not unusual – during the first millennium BCE, “lizards were commonly mummified in ancient Egypt, as were other reptiles, cats, dogs, hawks, ibises, shrews, fish,” the curator of the British Museum and collaborating researcher Aurélia Masson-Berghoff said in a statement. “Lizards, like snakes and eels, were particularly associated with ancient Egyptian sun gods and creators such as Atum and possibly, in the case of Naukratis, Amun-Ra Shena.”
Three of the votive boxes, probably dating from 500 to 300 BCE, were discovered in 1885 at Naukratis, an international port city in the western Nile Delta. Another box, surmounted by a figure of a lizard and probably dating from 664 to 332 BCE, was discovered at Tell el-Yehudiyeh in the eastern Nile delta and purchased by the British Museum in 1876. The other two boxes from the research study have unknown provenance. but are potentially from the early Ptolemaic period. The other three boxes were found to be full of significant amounts of lead when melted, prompting theories of functional use to maintain the inner structures of the boxes, as lead has a much lower melting point than copper. The six boxes were between 2 and 12 inches long.
“This is fascinating work, using neutron imaging to look inside sealed copper alloy animal containers and study the manufacturing process without damaging the artifact,” the director reiterated. from the STFC of ISIS Neutrons and Muon Source Roger Eccleston in the press release.
