Oldest Pharaonic mummy from the Museum of Florence finally has a face

August 28, 2015

Forensic techniques by international scientists have led to the facial reconstruction of the oldest preserved mummy in the Egyptian Museum of Florence.

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The research, led by Dr Matteo Borrini, forensic anthropologist and principal lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), applied forensic techniques on the remains to reconstruct the features of the mummy known as 'Kent.'
The mummy was a high ranking person, a dignitary or a priest of the XVIII dynasty (the same as Tutankhamun and Nefertiti). Until now, only his name was known. Dr Borrini devised the anatomical approximation from the structure of his skull, and the reconstruction was revealed at the International Congress of Egyptologists.
Dr Matteo Borrini commented: "The research allows us to use forensic investigation techniques for archaeological purposes to sketch the portrait of men who died millennia ago. The bust I made presents the scientific methodology in a language compatible with the needs of the museum and in harmony with the other artifacts on display."

A CT scan of the mummy revealed that 'Kent' was 50 years old when he died. An exact copy of his skull was modeled so that the individual muscles of the face could be produced. The bandages of the mummy were never removed. The procedure the researchers used is the "protocol of Manchester," a standardised investigative method that Dr Borrini has already used for archaeological reconstructions and during his work as a criminal expert.