The Department of Archaeology and Museums has begun its preventive conservation using unique and advanced scientific techniques with an aim of stopping the decay of an over 2,000 year-old Egyptian mummies preserved at Telangana State Museum at Hyderabad.
The Officials have claimed that the technique involves CT scan and X-ray examination and it is for the first time being used on a decaying mummy in India. The mummy here is among the only six Egyptian mummies preserved at museums in the country.
The Heritage Conservation Adviser to the project Vinod Daniel had told that the use of techniques has been done here would be the first time in preservation project for human remains and a mummy in India and it can set an example for other mummies in India, and also internationally similar technology can be used for conservation of mummies.
The mummy will now be kept in an oxygen-free encasement to prevent its further decay and Daniel have stated that the damage to the mummy had happened due to heat, light, temperature, humidity, insects and oxygen. After the CT scan and X-rays, the mummy was brought back to the museum and has been placed on the newly prepared base in the showcase.
The Youth Advancement Tourism and Culture Department) B Venkatesham has told that the next phase of the treatment will involve remedial conservation and possible restoration of the cartonnage, so that it can then be displayed in a special showcase.
