Egyptian Mummies: rediscovering six lives

Six Egyptian mummies from the 800 to 100 BC era of the British Museum's Mummy Exhibition are now exhibited in Zaragoza. The London museum has studied in detail their bodies, multi-coloured sarcophagi and the dozens of objects discovered in their tombs. A good part of their lives has been reconstructed thanks to this: identity, age, occupation, beliefs, customs, diet and even diseases they suffered and treatments they received for them.

In ancient Egypt, it was believed that the bodies of the dead should be preserved as best as possible to help them in their transition to the afterlife. The mummified bodies of an official, two priests, a married woman, a child and a Greco-Roman youngster can be seen at the exhibition. The decorations worn by mummies under the bandages are shown in 3D images. In the words of the exhibition's organisers, any investigation and research process must be carried out with the utmost respect, and this is why the mummies were not touched. We have managed to remove the bandages virtually, using non-invasive technologies.