Abstract
This paper reports the first use of terahertz time domain reflection imaging involving textiles on part of a complete human mummy, still in original wrapping. X-ray technique has been used extensively to investigate anatomical features, since X-ray pass through the wrapping. Terahertz waves, on the other hand, can penetrate into non-metallic materials and its reflection depends on the refractive index of materials at the interface, such as textiles and the air. The mummy of Kharushere (ca. 945-712 B.C.) was examined by using Terahertz time domain reflection imaging in the Egyptian galleries of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Experimental results suggest that the Terahetz imaging is a promising technique for probing the fabric layers surrounding Egyptian mummies, although it is still very limited in its current state. In the future it could become a useful complement to CT scanning when materials with low radiographic density and contrast are being investigated.
Highlights
Conventional X-ray radiography, and three-dimensional computerized tomography (CT), have been used extensively in order to image the internal anatomical features of Egyptian mummies and to localize objects that may have been placed underneath or within the bandages, without unwrapping the mummies
Objects having low radiographic density cannot be imaged efficiently by X-ray techniques when they are hidden behind high radiographic density objects
In terahertz pulsed time domain reflection imaging (THz imaging) [4, 5], contrast depends on the refractive index of the materials
Summary
Conventional X-ray radiography, and three-dimensional computerized tomography (CT), have been used extensively in order to image the internal anatomical features of Egyptian mummies and to localize objects that may have been placed underneath or within the bandages, without unwrapping the mummies. While X-rays can be used to image the internal features of the mummified body, pulsed THz waves can be used to probe the layers of bandages constituting the mummy wrappings. The pulsed THz waves are reflected by any discontinuity in the probed material: this gives THz imaging the potential to provide indications on the sequence of fabric layers and on eventual objects placed in-between the bandages. Time domain reflection imaging uses a pulsed THz wave as a probe propagating into the object under test. The B-scan along the b-b’ line of Area 2 (Fig. 3(b)) shows several intense reflections coming from layers underneath the surface. A intense reflection originates from a depth of about 20 mm from the surface
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