Radiological findings in ancient Egyptian canopic jars: comparing three standard clinical imaging modalities (x-rays, CT and MRI)

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of our study was to evaluate the potential and the limitations of standard clinical imaging modalities for the examination of ancient Egyptian canopic jars and the mummified visceral organs (putatively) contained within them.MethodsA series of four ancient Egyptian canopic jars was imaged comparing the three standard clinical imaging modalities: x-rays, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Additionally, imaging-data-based volumetric calculations were performed for quantitative assessment of the jar contents.ResultsThe image contrast of the x-ray images was limited by the thickness and high density of the calcite mineral constituting the examined jars. CT scans showed few artefacts and revealed hyperdense structures of organ-specific morphology, surrounded by a hypodense homogeneous material. The image quality of MRI scans was limited by the low amount of water present in the desiccated jar contents. Nevertheless, areas of pronounced signal intensity coincided well with hyperdense structures previously identified on CT scans. CT-based volumetric calculations revealed holding capacities of the jars of 626–1319 cm3 and content volumes of 206–1035 cm3.ConclusionsCT is the modality of choice for non-invasive examination of ancient Egyptian canopic jars. However, despite its limitations, x-ray imaging will often remain the only practicable method for on-site investigations. Overall, the presented radiological findings are more compatible with contained small organ fragments rather than entire mummified organs, as originally expected, with consequent implications for envisioned future sampling for chemical and genetic analysis.

Metagenomic analysis of Ancient Egyptian canopic jars

“…Second, for the few jars with suitable content, it is unclear whether they contained soft tissues. Previous studies relying on volumetric calculations from CT/MRI scans proved these artifacts are physically not large enough to hold entire human organs (Eppenberger et al, 2018 ), which substantially reduced the theoretical possibility of recovering soft tissue remains for molecular studies. Finally, the building of DNA sequencing libraries from the sampled material was somewhat inefficient.…”

“…Since most pathogens and chronic diseases are localized in the internal organs, these artifacts are the perfect combination of cultural and biological material and present an untapped resource for medical investigations of Ancient Egypt (Galassi et al, 2017 ; Rühli et al, 2015 ; Senti et al, 2018 ). Radiological (Eppenberger et al, 2018 ) and toxicological data (Brockbals et al, 2018 ) from these selected canopic jars have been published, but genetic analyses are still not available for these artifacts. Such ancient DNA analysis would help elucidate some of the recent questions concerning canopic jars, such as confirming the presence of actual human tissue, characterizing the type of tissue present, identifying the presence of commensal or pathogenic bacteria, and gathering further information about organic components that may be present in the jars.…”

Limited-Angle X-Ray CT Reconstruction Using Image Gradient ℓ₀-Norm With Dictionary Learning

“…X -RAY computed tomography (CT), as one of advanced nondestructive imaging tools, can reconstruct the internal tomography by collecting the measurements from 360 or 180 + ϕ (ϕ is fan-beam angle) for fan-beam geometry [1]- [3]. However, due to the restriction of the scanning environment in some applications, it is difficult to obtain the sufficient projections for image reconstruction and then further results in limited-angle CT reconstruction.…”