CT Scans Reveal New Secrets of Ancient Egyptian Mummies at Chicago's Field Museum

Chicago’s Field Museum recently undertook a pioneering effort to understand the lives and deaths of 26 Egyptian mummies, using a mobile CT scanner to uncover secrets hidden for over 3,000 years. This five-day process begins a multi-year research project that aims to provide the public with a more human-centered narrative of these mummified individuals and their significance in ancient Egyptian society. 

“From an archaeological perspective, you rarely get to investigate or view history from the perspective of a single individual,” said Stacy Drake, human remains collections manager at the Field Museum. For Drake and her team, this endeavor isn't merely about examining artifacts or constructing theories around material findings. It’s a chance to view history through the lens of people who lived, breathed, and prepared meticulously for a journey beyond death. 

Using the non-invasive CT scanning process, the team compiled thousands of X-ray images to construct detailed 3D renderings of the mummies. This technology enables them to “look at who these people were—not just the stuff that they made and the stories that we have concocted about them,” said Drake. 

In contrast to the invasive techniques of the past, the scans respect the integrity of the mummified remains and avoid any physical unwrapping, an approach that the museum’s scientists have embraced to preserve the dignity and mystery of the deceased. 

The findings offer new insights into the ancient Egyptian belief system surrounding death and the afterlife. According to Field Museum researchers, ancient Egyptians held that the soul remained within the body after death, requiring elaborate embalming processes to preserve it for the journey to the afterlife.

This ritual, which spanned about 70 days, involved removing all internal organs except the heart—believed to house the soul—and preserving them in canopic jars or small packets reintegrated within the body. The bodies were then carefully wrapped in linen, often adorned with protective amulets, to prepare them for eternity. 

Researchers at the Field Museum scan a mummified body

One of the most striking revelations came from the study of Lady Chenet-aa, a high-status Egyptian woman. Estimated to have lived during the 22nd Dynasty, about 3,000 years ago, Lady Chenet-aa’s embalmed body revealed the lengths to which the ancient Egyptians went to preserve her dignity and status for the afterlife.

The project’s initial findings also highlight the Field Museum’s evolving approach to handling these ancient remains. Far from the practices of the past, where mummies were unwrapped and displayed for public curiosity, today’s ethical considerations prioritize respecting the deceased. 

“We are trying to understand them as people,” said Drake, explaining the museum’s mission to “rehumanize and shift the narratives to be more respectful and give some more dignity to these mummified individuals.” 

The journey of these mummified individuals, however, has not always been peaceful. In 1939, Harwa became the first mummy to travel by airplane and was exhibited at the New York World’s Fair. His journey didn’t end there; after being misplaced in luggage, he briefly wound up in San Francisco before finally returning to the Field Museum. 

Drake acknowledged the shift in perspective, saying, “It’s maybe not what we would consider ethical anymore.” Today, the Field Museum collaborates closely with Egyptian officials to determine the fate of these mummies. Although there has been discussion of returning them to Egypt, officials have requested that they remain in Chicago for display, where they continue to offer the public insights into ancient Egyptian culture and history.