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Egyptian mummies were much sought after by museums in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This Egyptian mummy is kept in the Vatican Museum. Source: Joshua Sherurcij. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Mummies to get CAT scans at New York hospital

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Egyptian mummies were much sought after by museums in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This Egyptian mummy is kept in the Vatican Museum. Source: Joshua Sherurcij. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Egyptian mummies were much sought after by museums in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This Egyptian mummy is kept in the Vatican Museum. Source: Joshua Sherurcij. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

NEW YORK (AP) – Four Egyptian mummies from New York City are getting ready for their close-ups. Brooklyn Museum officials say the mummies will undergo sophisticated CAT scans on Tuesday at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y.

Researchers hope to gain further knowledge about their identities, cause of death, and ancient funerary practices.

Egyptian art curator Dr. Edward Bleiberg said the bodies embalmed for burial by the ancient Egyptians have been packed to survive the 18-mile trip during rush hour.

The mummies range in age from more than 3,000 years old to just over 1,700 years old.

Bleiberg said a 2007 hospital scan of a mummy showed the man was 30 years older than estimated and had died from an infected gallstone.
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