An X - ray depth psychology of a 2,500 - yr - old Egyptian mummified cat reveal the partial remains of not one butthreeindividual cats wrapped inside of textile and topped with a ball of yarn , according to a collaborationism of computer scientist and archaeological expert .
And it could have all been made in the name of a honest con .
The Rennes mama is housed at the Musée des Beaux - Arts in France and has been the open ofdigital introspectionfor more than a year . To reveal what lies beneath the wrapper , researchers first CT scanned the mummy before reconstructing the scans into digital file to make 3D prints of the thoroughgoing mummy , its wrapping , and the contents inside – all done in “ exceptional ” item and sheer so that watcher can see what is inside .
“ The interest of this project is free-base on multidisciplinary collaboration , especially with researchers in information processing system scientific discipline , which gain it possible to develop new innovational tool both from a scientific point of view and from the point of eyeshot of value knowledge , ” said Nicolaus .
It was believed to have been just a individual cat , but digital render reveal that there was no skull , vertebra , or ribs . Instead , underneath the many layers of material wrapping were five hind legs and pearl belonging to several kat topped with a yarn ball localize at the brain of the mummy .
" With a medical scanner , we always expect to find something . In this case , we have a bun in the oven to see a cat and not several cats , but it is perhaps not so exceeding , ” said researcher Theophane Nicolas , fromINRAP , in astatement . “ There are jillion of animal mummies , but few have been imagined . Some are empty , others hold only one pearl , sometimes the cat is complete . ”
3D renderings show the mummy bones ( left ) and a more elaborate look ( middle ) with the bone , interior textiles , and out wrapping ( right ) . IRISA / INSA Rennes
The consensus is out on why ancient Egyptians would have mummified hombre remains in this way , says Nicolaus . Some fence that it may have been some sort of “ ancient cozenage organized by unscrupulous priest . " Preserved mummies were betray as offerings to the gods . The orotund they were , the more they were worth , reportsLive Science .
“ On the contrary , we think that there are innumerable ways to make animate being mama , ” Nicolaus disagrees .
disregarding , the finding serve us to understand the story and culture of the social club . Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats and held them in the high admiration , according to theCat Museum of San Francisco .
The 3-D - printed mummy will be present at the European Heritage Days 2019 and will be on display at the museum .
