Peer Inside a 2,000-Year-Old Egyptian Cat Mummy

Scientist at the University of Aberdeen are using 3D imaging software to create interactive models of mummies and other ancient artifacts.

Transcript

00:00We have a number of cat mummies in the collection, and this was a nice one.

00:04Basically what we're doing is looking at some items in the University collection

00:08to make more use of them for teaching.

00:11So using photogrammetry and other techniques, we're able to create virtual versions of objects

00:16which otherwise you can't handle, other than a specialist coming in and looking at them.

00:20We're really looking at things that would be relevant to students of medicine and maybe archaeology as well,

00:25but also thinking some of the objects in the museum that are rather intriguing and attractive

00:29that would get people's attention.

00:31You are able to get that ability to look very closely, so it's not just a representation of the object,

00:35it's being able to look at the detail and really understand it, that's been really important.

00:39The question of course always is, what's inside it? Is it actually a cat mummy or not?

00:43There are cases where what's inside is not what you'd expect.

00:47We did actually have a crocodile mummy, and all that was in it was the crocodile's head, there was no body.

00:52So we wanted to know, so we were able to create this representation of it

00:56so we've got a real sense of the outside, and then also we cat-scanned it, and it's a bad pun, but never mind.

01:02And we discovered inside that the real cat is a tiny wee kitten, much, much smaller than the bandages.

01:08So presumably what went on was that actually at a temple they were selling mummified cats

01:13for people to give as a gift to the temple.

01:16And you'd make more money out of selling a large cat than a little one, so they bulked it out.

01:21So I think it does give a bit of an insight into what was going on in a temple of daily life

01:26and how they were making offerings to the gods in Egypt.

01:29Photogrammetry is a technique for building 3D models from photographs.

01:34So basically it consists in taking a lot of photographs around an object

01:38and then using a clever piece of software to stitch them all together and build a 3D model.

01:44And the result is very good, the textures are very realistic.

01:49So anyone can rotate the model, zoom into the object and explore the texture

01:56and the shape of the 3D model at any device.

02:01On the one hand we're thinking of the students in the University of Aberdeen

02:04and their chance to really make use of the collections.

02:07I mean it's a wonderful privilege being a student in Aberdeen when you've got the collection

02:10and we need to make more use of it.

02:12The other thing of course is we're able to web mount them,

02:14so they're going to be available to anybody who wants to see these things.

02:17And there are a number of international projects looking at things like cat mummies

02:21who are contributing to international scholarship as well as our own teaching.