BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Ancient “Brain Scoop” Found on Mummy’s CT Scan

Bible and archaeology news

A recent CT scan of a 2,400-year-old Egyptian mummy held in the Archaeological Museum of Zagreb, Croatia, revealed a rare example of an ancient tool used by embalmers for the removal of the brain during the mummification procedure. The scans, carried out in 2008, showed a small, rectangular object about 3 inches long that had become lodged in the mummy’s skull. When the researchers inserted an endoscope into the skull to get a better look, the mysterious object turned out to be a type of thin, brittle stick that ancient Egyptian embalmers used to extract and liquefy the brain. Lead researcher Mislav Cavka said the tool was almost certainly left in the mummy’s skull by accident, and probably became lodged when the tool broke apart during the removal procedure.