The Medelhavsmuseet
in Stockholm has 3D-scanned its collection of Egyptian mummies and
will
soon allow visitors to see below their wraps.
The museum scanned the mummies with X-rays and took photos,
combining the two together to create high-resolution
three-dimensional digital models. The museum calls this process
"reality capture".
"We aim to set a new standard for how museums work with 3D
digitisation and interactive visualisation to make collections more
accessible to other museums, researchers and museum visitors,"
Thomas Rydell of the Swedish Interactive Institute told
the BBC.
"In this project we are working with mummies, but the same
methods could of course be used on large variety of objects, such
as natural history objects and other historical artefacts."
A permanent exhibition featuring the mummies will open in Spring
2014 at the Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm.
29 June 13
by Duncan Geere, http://www.wired.co.uk
Mummies virtually unwrapped in Sweden
photo Medelhavsmuseet
Medelhavsmuseet – the
Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm will
digitally place human mummies on a virtual autopsy table. The work is
taking place in advance of a new exhibition on Egypt, which is due to
open in 2014 at Medelhavsmuseet.
Six of the museum’s mummies were x-rayed
using the CT scanner at Linköping University Hospital, in the framework
of a collaboration with Interactive Institute Swedish ICT,
Visualization Center C and CMIV in Norrköping/Linköping.
photo Medelhavsmuseet
The project is based on current research
within visualisation and interaction design, and its goal is to connect
research and cultural history with the help of the latest technology,
in the form of interactive visualisation.
“Using the table we can describe the
individual’s health and fate, the mummification process and the ancient
Egyptians’ assumptions about the life thereafter.” said Sofia Häggman, Egyptologist at Medelhavsmuseet.
photo Medelhavsmuseet
3D digital models will be generated by
compiling data from photos and X-ray scans for the mummies and their
associated sarcophagi. By combining the very latest techniques in
computed tomography, laser scanning and photogrammetry, the user
experience will be upgraded to an incredible level of realism. It will
be possible to zoom into very high resolution to see details like
carving marks on a sarcophagus, and the true colors of the mummy. The 3D
model also allows to “unwrap” a mummy by peeling off virtual layers of
the wrapping to explore the mummy itself and the artifacts that were
buried with the body.
“We can literately create a virtual
copy of the mummy. This version could be shared with other museums, be
used for research or be part of an interactive visitor experience,” said Thomas Rydell of the Swedish Interactive Institute. “In
this project we are working with mummies, but the same methods could of
course be used on large variety of objects, such as natural history
objects and other historical artefacts.”
photo Medelhavsmuseet
The museum’s mummies are of great
interest to the general public, and are the focus of many visits, by
adults and children alike. With the help of the visualisation table,
originally developed for healthcare, the museum visitors will be able to
discover the mummies in detail, easily and intuitively investigate
complex data, which would normally only be available to researchers. It
is already planned for the spring of 2014 a permanent exhibition of
ancient Egyptian civilization, including the 3D digital models of the
mummies.
“The technology will enable our visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the men and women inside the mummy wrappings,” said Elna Nord, producer of the exhibition. “Layer
by layer, the visitor can unwrap the mummy and gain knowledge of the
individual’s sex, age, living conditions and beliefs. With help from the
technology, the mummies become so much stronger mediators of knowledge
of our past.”
http://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/article/mummies-virtually-unwrapped-in-sweden/
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