"Gilded Lady": Ancient Egyptian Mummy's Face Reconstructed After 1500 Years

Scientists put the "animation" in "reanimation" after virtually reconstructing the face of a mysterious mummy who lived 1,500 years ago, as detailed in the journal "Anthropologie - International Journal of Human Diversity and Evolution."

Known as the gilded lady because of her golden headdress, the mummy belonged to a woman who lived in Roman-occupied Egypt and died in her 40s, possibly of tuberculosis, authors postulated.

"It is a delicate, youthful-looking face," study lead author and Brazilian graphics designer Cicero Moraes told Pen News of the recreation, which he carried out in collaboration with an international team of scientists.

The figure's visage is sleek with short, curly hair, not unlike a modern social media profile. She also had a slight overbite and lumps of resin that were likely inserted during mummification to improve odour.

To ensure the preservation of the remains, the authors refrained from unwrapping the cadaver, currently housed at Chicago's Field Museum, as detailed in a release from the American Museum of Natural History.

Instead, in 2011, they conducted a CT scan of her body for the first time, enabling them to map her physique akin to a form of anatomical cartography.

Utilizing this technique, the team subsequently revealed her facial features, a process made possible by the mummy's exceptional state of preservation.

"Initially, we reconstructed the skull, based on the computed tomography [a method that uses X-ray technology to produce images of the body's inside], and later adjusted the jaw's position," recalled Moraes. "The skull allows us to design structures such as the nose, ears, eye position, lip limits and others, using data measured in tomography scans of living people."

Furthermore, the forensic expert explained, "We utilize measurements taken with ultrasound, also used on living individuals, to determine the thickness of soft tissue in various areas of the skull."

Given the Gilded Lady's origins in Roman-occupied Egypt, the team estimated her soft tissue thickness using comparable data from contemporary European women aged 40 to 49.

They then adjusted the features and skull structure of a "virtual donor" to match those of the gilded lady, ensuring anatomical accuracy.

Scientists completed this facial reconstruction by integrating and projecting all gathered data onto her digital likeness.

As her skin colour remains uncertain, scientists created a colourized version and a grayscale depiction to avoid assumptions about skin tone.

Recreating other apparently perishable features during this digital examination was relatively straightforward. The woman's curly hair remained remarkably well-preserved, thanks once more to the mummification techniques used.

"She reminds me of my mother-in-law in some ways!" joked Moraes. "During the process, I showed it to some family members and they all agreed."

Although scientists have not identified the individual behind the digital face, her burial practices indicate that she was likely "a middle-class individual," as noted by Cicero's co-author Michael Habicht from Flinders University in Australia.

This case highlights how CT scans enable scientists to gather insights into a mummy's appearance, age, and other crucial details without compromising the integrity of the deceased.

"Scans like these are noninvasive, they're repeatable, and they can be done without damaging the history that we're trying to understand," said David Hurst Thomas, curator of anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study.