The 8th Mummy Congress in Rio de Janeiro

Mimi Leveque, conservator from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Ma, will be participating at the 8th Mummy Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She will be writing and giving a talk about the whole Padihershef conservation, CT scan and facial reconstruction project. In addition, Mimi will go in depth about the benefits of social media interest with mummy projects.

Please cheer her on as she will be giving her talk next week. The Mummy Congress starts August 6th and runs until August 9th.


http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/novidades/8o-congresso-mundial-de-estudos-de-mumias

Check out her abstract below:

Padihershef, the Oldest Patient in the Ether Dome at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Gets a 21st Century Re-Examination, MIMI LEVEQUE (Conservator, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA and ArchaeaTechnica Conservation, mimi_leveque@pem.org.

For 190 years Padihershef, the first Egyptian mummy in America, has watched major medical technological changes from his home in the Ether Dome but only now has he become a recipient of their benefits. In 2013, MGH embarked on a comprehensive conservation project to examine, treat and rehouse the mummy and his coffin, under the direction of the Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of History and Innovation.  We hope to acquire as much data as possible about the methods of mummification, the condition of the body and the wrappings, his state of health and how he compares to other mummies of his time and place. 

The project has begun with radiographic imaging, including plain film x-rays, 2 D and 3 D CT scans, done  by a team led by Dr. Rajiv Gupta, Director, Ultra-high Resolution Volume CT Lab  using Siemens Definition Flash Scanner at 120kVp, 350mAs, 1 second rotation time, pitch of 0.5 and a slice thickness of 0.5mm.

The data has also been sent to Jonathan Elias, Director of the Akhmim Mummy Studies Consortium to produce a sculptural forensic facial reconstruction of Padihershef. This part of the work will require an accurate skull model digitally edited and then rapid prototyped, printed in full 3D volume.

The conservation treatment, directed by the author, will involve a condition assessment and stabilization of both the mummy and coffin.  As an educational outreach, the treatment phase will be open to the public over a three day period in the Ether Dome, MGH’s original surgical teaching amphitheater.

All the data will be shared by postings to the Padihershef Facebook page and a dedicated blog, written by Rebecca Barber of the Peabody Essex Museum.  This paper will summarize the findings and discuss the benefits of social media in expanding the public’s interest in scientific projects.

 (Abstract written by Mimi Leveque)

Mimi Leveque speaking with press (Photo courtesy of MGH photographer)