Stephanie Zesch

• Master of Arts
• Scientific curator at Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Mannheim

This study focuses on the multidisciplinary investigation of three stucco-shrouded mummies with mummy portrait from Egypt dating from the late 3rd to the middle of the 4th century AD, corresponding to the late Roman Period. These three mummies were excavated in the early 17th and late 19th centuries in the Saqqara necropolis near the ancient Egypti...

Recent advances in the recovery and analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) and application of isotopic analysis of tissue obtained from mummified human remains has been accompanied by continued advances in non-invasive imaging using X-ray computed tomography (CT) and use of minimally invasive surgical techniques employing small fibre-optic endoscopes. We u...

In the course of a scientific cooperation between the German Mummy Project at the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim (Germany) and the Musée National d'Histoire et d'Art Luxembourg (Luxembourg), an ancient Egyptian mummy head was analyzed using a multidisciplinary approach including radiocarbon dating, ultra-high resolution computed tomography, physi...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to systematically reinvestigate the first human mummy that was ever analyzed with X-ray imaging in 1896, using dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) in order to compare the earliest and latest imaging technologies, to estimate preservation, age at death, sex, anatomical variants, paleopathological findings, mumm...

The analysis of the human remains from the megalithic tomb at Alto de Reinoso represents the widest integrative study of a Neolithic collective burial in Spain. Combining archaeology, osteology, molecular genetics and stable isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr, δ15N, δ13C) it provides a wealth of information on the minimum number of individuals, age, sex,...

On the occasion of the renewal of the Civic Archaeological Museum of Bergamo (BG), Italy, a complete multidisciplinary analysis of the Egyptian Mummy named Ankh-Khonsu has been performed. The current paper focuses on the results obtained by the anthropological analysis, the radiocarbon dating and the facial approximation.

In accordance with ancient Egyptian beliefs, the preservation of the body after death was an important prerequisite for the continued existence of the deceased in the afterlife. This involved application of various physical interventions and magical rituals to the corpse. Computed tomography (CT), as the gold-standard technology in the field of pal...

Among the 70 items donated by the abbot Antonio Pietro Paternostro to the former National Museum of Palermo (now Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum) in 1870, an ancient Egyptian mummified human head stands out. In 2022 the finding was submitted for a multidisciplinary investigation that relied upon non-invasive or minimally invasive approaches....

The ancient Egyptians considered the heart to be the most important organ. The belief that the heart remained in the body is widespread in the archeological and paleopathological literature. The purpose of this study was to perform an overview of the preserved intrathoracic structures and thoracic and abdominal cavity filling, and to determine the...

Objective: To identify and interpret computed tomography (CT) findings of postmortem changes in ancient Egyptian child mummies. Materials: Whole-body CT examinations of 21 ancient Egyptian child mummies from German (n = 18), Italian (n = 1), and Swiss museums (n = 2). Methods: Conspicuous CT findings from prior evaluations with various researc...

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of anemias in ancient Egyptian child mummies. Whole‐body computed tomography (CT) examinations of 21 ancient Egyptian child mummies from European museums were evaluated for estimation of sex and age at death. CT examinations were systematically assessed for skeletal effects of anemias using a...

The permanent exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum, Semmelweis Museum of Medical History of Budapest, Hungary, displays some human remains believed to originate from ancient Egypt. Within the framework of the Nephthys Project, three objects consisting of two heads and one foot were studied via paleoimaging and archaeometric techniques in ord...

Die 1885 nach Chemnitz gelangte ägyptische Mumie des Nes-Hor mit Sarg war kürzlich nach jahrzehntelanger Ausleihe an das Museum für Naturkunde Chemnitz zurückgekehrt. Neben den in der Zwischenzeit erfolgten, unpublizierten ägyptologischen Untersuchungen werden erste angestellte Recherchen und Beobachtungen zu Fragen des gesamten Ensembles diskutier...

Objective To identify computed tomography (CT) findings of purulent infections in ancient Egyptian child mummies. Materials Whole-body CT examination of 21 ancient Egyptian child mummies from German (n = 18), Italian (n = 1), and Swiss museums (n = 2). Methods CT examinations were evaluated for estimation of age at death and sex of the children....

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and anatomical distribution of recovery lines (growth arrest lines) in ancient Egyptian child mummies. Whole‐body computed tomography (CT) examinations of 21 ancient Egyptian child mummies from European museums were evaluated for estimation of age at death and sex of the children. CT examinati...

Objective To correlate atherosclerosis (Ath) and osteoarthritis (OA) in mummies from ancient Egypt. Materials Whole-body CT examinations of 23 mummies from the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Berlin, Germany, and 22 mummies from the Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy. Methods Ath was assessed in five anatomical regions by means of preserved arter...

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: Egy traumás eredetű sérüléseket mutató, ókori egyiptomi koponya vizsgálatát ismertetjük a Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum gyűjteményéből. A jelen cikkben egy mumifikált fej elemzését emeltük ki, ennek átfogó vizsgálatát és részletes eredményeit közöljük. Célkitűzés: Célunk egy multidiszciplináris vizsgálatsorozat megvaló...

Agriculture frst reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in diferent geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focus on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic (~ 5500–3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (~ 3000–2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (~ 2200–1500...

Purpose Soft tissues make a skeleton into a mummy and they allow for a diagnosis beyond osteology. Following the approach of structured reporting in clinical radiology, a recently developed checklist was used to evaluate the soft tissue preservation status of the Tyrolean Iceman using computed tomography (CT). The purpose of this study was to apply...

Objective In this study, an Inca bundle was examined using computed tomography (CT). The primary aim was to determine the preservation status of bony and soft tissues, the sex, the age at the time of death, possible indicators for disease or even the cause of death, as well as the kind of mummification. A secondary aim was to obtain a brief overvie...