Researchers Use Neutron Imaging to Peep Inside 2000-Year-Old Sealed Egyptian Animal Coffins

A team of researchers used a noninvasive technique and went through six Egyptian animal coffins that had been sealed for almost two millennia.

Researchers have found a way to peek inside centuries-old coffins without disturbing their contents, as per a new study. The study published in Scientific Reports, explains how experts at the British Museum looked inside several millennia-old miniature coffins.

Of the six animal coffins, three were found in Naukratis in the western Nile Delta, while two were discovered in Tell el-Yehudiyeh in the eastern Nile Delta, in 1885, according to the study. Two other coffins have unknown origins. 

The technique used by the researchers was Neutron tomography, according to the study. This method provides two- or three-dimensional maps of the attenuation coefficient distribution present in an object, Science Direct reported. 

Before using Neutron Tomography to look into the coffins, the team had used X-rays for the purpose, as per the study. The images they received, with X-ray, were poor in quality, primarily because of the attenuation from the boxes and apparent dense metals inside.

Neutron imaging revealed that the coffins were primarily built by using copper compounds and contained images of eels, cobras, and lizards, according to the study. In three coffins, the researchers could find bones that were similar in features to a group of lizards endemic to northern Africa.

"In the first millennium BC, lizards were commonly mummified in ancient Egypt, as were other reptiles, cats, dogs, falcons, ibises, shrews, fishes… Lizards, like snakes and eels, were particularly associated with ancient Egyptian solar and creator gods such as Atum and perhaps, in the case of Naukratis, with Amun-Ra Shena," co-author and project curator at the British Museum Aurélia Masson-Berghoff said in a statement, Popular Science reported.

"With the help of neutron imaging, we have the potential to learn more about the ritual and votive practices surrounding these once impenetrable animal coffins, the ways they were made, used, and displayed."

Certain coffins contained linen fragments, which were used for mummification during those times, as per the study. As per researchers, animals were wrapped in linen fragments and then mummified within the coffins.

Lead was also found to be used in the creation of coffins, which as per the experts might have been a way to create balance in the whole structure and the metal's reputation as a "magical material."

The study aims to shed light on how these coffins were created and used in those times in Egypt, Popular Science reported. It also showcases the respect animals commanded within the community as reincarnations of god.

In some cases, the animals might also been used as offerings and therefore laid down in a grandiose manner, according to experts. 

"Neutron imaging has many important applications in 21st-century science," co-author and research fellow at the Science and Technology Facilities Council Anna Fedrigo said in a statement. "This study shows that it can also shed light on the inner structure of complex archaeological objects, including their manufacturing techniques and contents."