Demetrios gets CT scanned

Photo by Adam Husted

Sorry for the delay in this post, but it was a long process organizing the CT scans. When we unpacked Demetrios, we were happy to find that the packing supported him well, and he had survived the trip on the LIE. We had a great time at North Shore Hospital with Dr. Boxt and his colleagues.

Photo by Adam Husted

First of all, we were able to confirm that Demetrios is an adult male. Next, we were able to tell that he was in very good physical condition when he died, indicating that he was probably a lot younger than we had previously thought. Dr. Boxt could find no indication of foul play involved in his death, and remarked that his bones showed no signs of degenerative disease. So for now, how old he was when he died and what he died from continues to be a mystery.

When you look at the cross section of Demetrios above, you can see some of the things we did find out. Two of his ribs were broken during the mummification process (#5). There is an unidentifiable bundle in his chest, and it is possible that the ribs were broken to place this bundle (#8). This could be anything from more linen to soft tissue of the body, to papyrus. And finally, he was buried on a wooden plank wrapped within the linens (#6). Within the next few months, we plan to work with other physicians and Egyptologists who can help us further decipher the CT scans. In the meantime, we also have to prepare Demetrios for loan. The next few blogs will discuss and track the conservation treatment of Demetrios. I’ll be on leave for several months, so my colleague Lisa will be taking over the blogs -enjoy!