Details of the life and death of an ancient Egyptian woman began to emerge yesterday after her mummified body was scanned at a Tyneside hospital.
Experts from the Hancock Museum in the city are examining the first of 800 images of the 3,000-year-old mummy Bakt Hor Nekht.
The mummy was bought in Egypt in 1820 by Thomas Coates from Haydon Bridge, in Northumberland, who gave her to the Literary and Philosophical Society in Newcastle.
The mummy, inside her linen and plaster inner coffin, or cartonnage, was given a Computerised Tomography (CT) scan at Newcastle General Hospital.
It revealed that she has a full set of teeth, including her wisdom teeth.
Gill Scott, Egyptologist at the Hancock Museum, said that this meant she was probably aged between 21 and mid to late-30s when she died.
This age range is backed by the fact that there appears to be no signs of arthritis or disease in her bones. She was also around 5ft in height.
The scan also showed a substance on her teeth. Gill said that one theory is that her face may have been damaged during the embalming process and her teeth painted in a cosmetic exercise.
"It was very important, when the soul was separated from the body, for it to recognise the face after death," said Gill.
The scans also revealed a series of amulets made of a variety of different materials positioned across the body.
One amulet, the symbol of resurrection in the form of the winged scarab, is placed on the top of her chest. Another is placed to the left side of the stomach over the embalming incision areas.
These magical, protective amulets made the body complete and whole.
False eyes, made perhaps from alabaster, are placed over her eyelids and were thought to provide the dead with vision in the afterlife.
"More detailed investigation of the scans still needs to be undertaken as there are over 800 images to sift through, but we hope this will provide us with even more information to build up a better picture of her life and death," said Gill.
The project will help staff improve their understanding of one of the world's most intriguing ancient civilisations.
This is also important for the development of the new Egyptian display which will form part of the £26m Great North Museum project, due to open in 2009.
Bakt Hor Nekht will be moving to her new home at Segedunum Roman Fort on September 30 as part of the new Land of the Pharaohs exhibition.
Gill said: "We think she was probably middle class because she was buried in a tomb and her cartonnage is quite elaborate and the outer coffin of sycamore wasn't cheap."
Who was Bakt Hor Nekht?
Age: Around 3,000 years.
Age at death: Between 21 and late 30s.
Height: About 5ft.
Status: Middle class.
Cause of death: As yet unclear
