Non-Destructive Evaluation And Three Dimensional Visualization Of An Ancient Egyptian Artifact With Applications To Modern Engineering Materials

Traditionally, the study of ancient cultures is concerned with the excavation of habitations, monuments<br>and the retrieval of artifacts, however one may also gain specific knowledge about a civilization on a<br>smaller scale, that of the artifact itself. By using non-destructive evaluation techniques such as industrial<br>computed tomography (CT) x-rays and scientific visualization, information can be obtained about the<br>internal composition and structure of an object at resolutions of millimeters or even microns. As this type<br>of data acquisition is non-destructive and non-invasive, the technique has profound implications in the<br>analysis of materials in the fields of archaeology as well as other areas of science and engineering. For<br>ancient artifacts, this may be the only means of non-destructively determining the structural integrity and<br>composition of rare, precious and fragile objects, thereby contributing to their authenticity and valuation.<br>In this paper, the results of a study of an ancient Egyptian cat mummy using a high resolution XRII based<br>quantitative volume CT scanner are presented. The study was initiated to confirm the internal<br>composition of the mummy and to discover further details about its contents and method of preservation.<br>This methodology produced meaningful results that enabled a more complete understanding of an artifact<br>that could not otherwise be achieved without disturbing the artifact. Applications related to other fields<br>such as civil engineering (composition and structure in concrete drillcore) are also discussed.