Head to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts between September 14th and February 2nd to delve into the lives of six ancient Egyptians. The MMFA, in collaboration with the British Museum, is proud to address previously unanswerable questions about the details of ancient Egyptian life, thanks to new technological advancements. These advancements have permitted researchers to study mummies in a non-invasive way, and have revealed details about the mysteries that shroud these fascinating people.
Up until now, the only way to investigate mummies was to unwrap, and therefore ultimately destroy them. Museums thus understandably opted to preserve rather than lose these valuable artifacts. However, thanks to x-rays, Computerized Tomography (CT) scanning, and high-resolution three-dimensional imaging, researchers can now have their cake and eat it to: Today, it is possible to virtually uncover mummies without damaging them. As co-curator of the exhibit Laura Vigo explains, Science and technological advancements have contributed immensely in recent years to understanding and better contextualizing our distant past. The exhibition will carry us back in time to marvel at how life was really lived along the River Nile over 2,000 years ago.
This technique has been used to piece together the lives of Nestawedjat, a married woman from Thebes; Tamut, a chantress of Amun; Irthorru, a priest from Akhmim; a temple singer from Thebes; a young child from Hawara; and a young Roman Egyptian; through whose lives you will learn about what it was like to live in Egypt between 900 BCE and 180 CE. So, this fall, come escape the humdrum of back to school and back to work, and lose yourself, for a few hours, in six other lives, ones from thousands of years ago.
By: Charlotte Esme Frank – info@mtltimes.ca
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