The three sisters:multidetector computed tomography and 3D reconstructions of three sister mummies from the Egyptian Museum of Turin

Abstract

The “three sisters” is a particular group of mummies from the Drovetti collection of the Egyptian Museum in Turin. They were purchased in 1824 by King Carlo Felice of Savoy for the new Museum. The mummies come from the area of Tebe in Upper Egypt. Their names are Tapeni (CGT 13002–Cat. 2215), Tamiu (CGT 13003–Cat. 2218), and Renpetnefert (CGT 13007–Cat.2231). They were evaluated the same day with multidetector CT (GE Light Speed Qx/I). In all three cases whole body CT helical acquisition with thin slices (2.5 mm thickness, 1.25 mm reconstruction interval) followed by multiplanar and 3D reconstructions were performed. Stature, anthropometric measurements, sex, and approximate age, were estimated. Also embalming techniques, condition of the skeleton and of the soft tissues, and the presence of foreign objects were analyzed. The similarities and differences of embalming methods were also evaluated. To our knowledge, there are no other reports of CT studies on mummies belonging to the same family. We believe these results are of particular interest for archaeology and computed imaging technology.