The Science of Mummies

AllOfUs were briefed by the British Museum to create an interactive, digital experience to allow visitors to explore a group of eight mummies as part of the ‘Ancient lives: new discoveries’ exhibition.

Using breakthrough technology, the exhibition showed a never-before-seen picture of eight individuals’ lives in the Nile Valley over 4,000 years – from prehistoric Egypt to Christian Sudan. The exhibition was made possible by three-dimensional CT reconstructions of the mummies which were analysed using anthropological and forensic techniques. These were made up from hundreds, sometimes thousands, of CT scans combined to create an impressively detailed reconstruction of the bodies and objects concealed within the wrappings.

The exhibits allowed visitors to explore the various scanned layers by the use of touch pad wheel. This revealed artifacts and more information about the lives of the individuals as the user explored. Other digital pieces showed looping animations constructed from the scans highlighting key details.