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Special Article |
1 Struttura Operativa Complessa di Radiodiagnostica, Presidi Ospedalieri
Riuniiti, Azienda Sanitaria Locale 19, Asti, Regione Piemonte, Italy.
2 Instituto di Radiologia Diagnostica ed Interventistica, Università di
Torino, Azienda Ospedaliera San Giovanni Battista di Torino, Ospedale
Molinette, Corso Bramante 84, Torino 10126, Italy.
3 Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell'Uomo, Laboratorio di Antropologia
Fisica, Università di Torino, via Accademia Albertina 17, Torino 10123,
Italy.
4 Soprintendenza al Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino, via Accademia
delle Scienze 6, Torino 10123, Italy.
5 Gabinetto Interregionale di Polizia Scientifica per il Piemonte e la Valle
d'Aosta di Torino, c.so Vinzaglio 10, Torino 10121, Italy.
Received September 8, 2003; accepted after revision April 19, 2004.
Address correspondence to F. Cesarani, Via San Felice 46/4, Pino Torinese
10025, Italy
(federicocesarani{at}inwind.it).
OBJECTIVE. Facial reconstruction of mummies and corpses in general is important in anthropological, medical, and forensic studies. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the role of MDCT examination for 3D facial reconstruction and report the results of multidisciplinary work performed by radiologists, anthropologists, and forensic police in reconstructing the possible physiognomy of an ancient Egyptian mummy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. Three-dimensional MDCT data were obtained from a well-preserved, completely wrapped Egyptian mummy from the collection of the Egyptian Museum in Torino, Italy, which dated from the XXII or XXIII dynasty (945–715 BC). Data were used as a model for the rapid prototyping stereolithographic technique, a method that allows the creation of a 3D model with digital data using synthetic materials such as a resin or nylon.
RESULTS. The physical creation of the face was accomplished with boosting techniques performed by the progressive layering of plasticine on the nylon model according to the anthropometric data, the conditions of the soft residual dehydrated tissues, and the most accepted scientific and anthropological criteria. CT is the only noninvasive method for obtaining fundamental data for 3D reconstructions of the skull and the body, especially with wrapped mummies.
CONCLUSION. Our multidisciplinary cooperative study produced a model of the face of an individual who lived nearly 3,000 years ago, which would not previously have been possible unless we unwrapped, destroyed, and altered the conservation of the bandages and the mummy.
CT studies in the scientific literature of ancient human mummies have supplied anthropologists with fundamental information. Facial reconstructions of wrapped mummies using CT data have been reported [1–3], although few of them have used the helical technique and, as far as we know, MDCT has never been used before. Our group previously performed a whole-body CT study of Egyptian mummies using the MDCT technique [4]. Now we report the facial reconstruction of a well-preserved, completely wrapped mummy in cooperation with anthropologists and the forensic police, and we describe the techniques that we used to obtain the physiognomy of the mummy.
Materials and Methods
Our previous MDCT study [4] of the whole bodies of 13 completely wrapped Egyptian mummies from the collection of the Egyptian Museum in Torino, dating from the III and IV dynasties (2650–2450 BC) and from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods (332 BC–395 AD) obtained detailed acquisitions of the skulls and highly accurate 3D reconstructions of the skulls and dehydrated soft tissues.
Those data form the basis of our attempt to perform the facial reconstruction of the mummy (accession number, SUPPL 5226, CGT 13011) of Harwa, an artisan who lived during the XXII or XXIII dynasty (945–715 BC) that was found in the Valley of the Queens by E. Schiaparelli during the archaeological excavations that took place in 1903–1906 [5]. The items in the collection of the Egyptian Museum are numbered using four indexes: CAT designates the Catalogo Antico Torino; CGT, Catalogo Generale Torino; PROVV, Provvisorio; and SUPPL, Supplemento al CAT.
The procedures through which the final model was achieved can be divided into several steps.
The first step was the acquisition of data using an MDCT scanner (LightSpeed QX/i, GE Healthcare). Preliminary anteroposterior and lateral scout images were obtained to optimize the field of view. For the dedicated acquisition of the head, these parameters were used: helical scanning, 0.8-sec rotation time, 1.25-mm slice thickness, 7.5 mm/sec table speed, 0.7-mm reconstruction interval, large field of view, 120 kV, and 140 mA. Three hundred fifty-five images were obtained, and the scanning time was 27.4 sec.
The second step consisted of postprocessing performed with a Precision 530 workstation with dual processors, Intel Xeon 1.7 GHz, and 2,048 MB of random access memory (Dell Computer) with version 2.5 Vitrea software (Vital Images). After the analysis of the external aspects of the head, which was automatically reconstructed by the software, the virtual removal of the bandages was performed. In this case the bandages were separated from the superficial dried tissues of the head, delimiting the layers of the wrappings from the whole circumference of the head on the axial scans and excluding them from the reconstruction. Several attempts at virtual removal of the bandages were performed to obtain the best delimitation of the soft tissues (Fig. 1A). A 3D reconstruction of the cranial bones was also obtained using preset algorithms (Fig. 1B).
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The third step consisted of generating the computerized CT data to obtain two models made of resin. The first was a highly precise reproduction of the skull (Fig. 1C), and the second was the face of the mummy with its residual soft tissues still present under the bandages (Fig. 1D). For the skull model, the bone structures were easily depicted from the soft tissues according to their density, but for the second model an accurate delimitation of the soft tissues of the face had to be performed on each CT slice. This was achieved by cooperation between the radiologist and the computer-assisted design technician to exclude the bandages and debris from the reconstruction. We used a dedicated software system for interfacing medical scanner information from CT or MRI with rapid prototyping (Mimics 7 software, Materialize). These data were then transferred to a Vanguard selective laser sintering system (3D Systems Italia) for the reproduction of the resin model. The selective laser sintering system is a device that produces a model polymerizing thin layers of plastic material using the computer-assisted design file of an object. We used Polyamide powders (Duraform). The reconstruction was performed in steps of 0.1 mm, working from the neck to the vertex. After the model cooled, excess powders were removed and a computerized system checked the resulting model against the mathematic model to detect possible inaccuracies.
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The final facial reconstruction was then performed on the skull cast by the combined work of the anthropologist and the forensic artist, using the Manchester protocol reconstruction method [6] and the information given by the residual soft tissues. In particular, pegs were positioned at marked points on the resin model of the skull according to the protocol parameters to determine the correct thickness of the soft tissues. The thickness of the pegs was established by the anthropologist according to the marks of muscle insertions on the skull model. Among the pegs, strips of plasticine were laid and the empty spaces were filled with modeling material (Fig. 1E). The model with the residual soft tissues gave important information regarding the morphology of the nose, the mouth, and the ears.
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We used CT data from the whole bodies previously studied [4] to reconstruct parameters for an average individual. We decided not to add beard, mustache, hair, or makeup to limit artistic interpretation and give precedence instead to the scientific data.
Recently, a plaster cast was made to preserve the model and allow its exhibition.
Results
The embalming procedures used to preserve the body were identified from the evaluation of axial scans and multiplanar reconstructions. The absence of brain material, the persistence of only thin meningeal sheets, and the interruption of the ethmoidal cells revealed that the brain was removed through the nasal cavity. The teeth are in poor condition, and no other evidence of disease can be seen.
The anthropological indexes measured on the axial and multiplanar reconstructions are reported in Table 1.
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The facial reconstruction allowed the identification of a man approximately 45 years old at the time of death. We emphasize that the reconstruction did not allow establishing the fatty layers of the face. The muscle insertions are clearly visible on the skull bones reconstructed according to the CT data and helped the forensic artist and anthropologist to infer the possible thickness of the muscles, but fat does not leave signs on the skull. Because of this reason, dehydration, and the embalming procedures, we do not know how fatty the face was.
The reconstruction parameters established for an average individual were attributed to the face of Harwa according to the CT data of the whole bodies previously studied [4] and the cranial indexes. The results are also strengthened by the studies of Chantre [7], Thomson and Randall-Maciver [8], and Marro [9], according to which a gradual increase of the cephalic index of ancient Egyptians toward mesocephaly occurred in the Greek and Roman periods.
Details of the soft tissues were reproduced with high accuracy. Also, a small lesion was reproduced on the superficial surface of the left temporal area. Already visible on the axial scans as a small isodense homogeneous lesion without calcifications, it is probably a nevus. The reconstructions show it clearly (Fig. 1F), along with other details of the face.
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Discussion
Facial reconstruction from human remains is fundamental in forensic science for identifying bodies, but it has also been of interest in archaeology and paleoanthropology. It is one of the ways in which archaeologists seek to characterize the individuals of certain societies and has the potential for supplementing data collected by traditional physical and forensic anthropology.
Three main approaches for facial reconstruction are known [6]. The Russian method as developed by Gerasimov involves building the facial anatomy over the skull. The American method relies almost entirely on the use of average soft-tissue measurements at specific anatomic points and building the clay up to the point at which the measurements are matched. The third, known as the Manchester method, which is the one we followed, uses soft-tissue measurements and careful rebuilding of the anatomic structures.
Several solid replica facial reconstructions of mummies from CT data have been reported in the literature. The first example was performed by the Japanese archaeologist Sakuji Yoshimura [1], who reconstructed the face of the Egyptian mummy Crisalis in 1983. With the aid of a computer program of the Institute of Forensic Anthropology in Kyoto, starting from 49 CT axial slices, the researchers virtually unwrapped the head and reconstructed the face of a young woman who lived in Egypt at the time of Tutmosis III (XVIII dynasty, 1479–1425 BC). It is now shown with heavy makeup and a hairstyle.
In 1998, the body of Sensaos, who died in 109 BC, was scanned with a Tomoscan Expander (Philips) in Holland [2]. In this case, the number of slices used for the head was 190 and for the rest of the body was 558. Data were elaborated with software and a procedure known as multijet modeling that produced the face of the young Egyptian woman in 36 hr [5]. Richard Neave [3] reconstructed her face with the assistance of a makeup artist. Now the face shows thick lips, quite a large nose, and small ears appropriate to the typical somatic type of the Nubian population to which she belonged.
Later, the same authors [3] compared the results of the computer facial reconstruction of four Egyptian mummies from Fayum with their corresponding portraits. They found good correspondence between the reconstructions and the portraits in all instances except one.
An article on computer-aided facial reconstruction with dedicated software of an unwrapped mummified Egyptian head of uncertain period was recently presented by Attardi et al. [10]. According to the authors, this system provides faster execution time and a more scientific approach than traditional facial reconstruction because no manual skill is required and no artistic freedom is given.
It becomes clear on reviewing the literature that the continuous development of acquisition and reconstruction techniques has progressively improved the accuracy of results. The accuracy of MDCT, with the acquisition of thin overlapping slices and 3D reconstructions as a method that faithfully reproduces human anatomy, has been widely reported in the literature [11–13].
The average depths of facial tissues at a number of sites on the skull are well known, and these are used as the basis for reconstruction. On the other hand, Prag and Neave [6] report that large areas of the face have no underlying bone structure (e.g., the eyes, the mouth, the shape of the nose) that can be used to predict facial shape, and therefore much of the final reconstruction is guess-work. In our case, data on soft dehydrated tissues from the 3D reconstructions with the workstation gave us fundamental information about the morphology of the nose, of the ears, and partially of the lips, which are frequently influenced by subjectivity and are difficult to reconstruct accurately from cranial information only.
In particular, we emphasize the role played by virtual unwrapping. Attardi et al. [10] with an Egyptian mummy and zur Nedden et al. [14] with the Ice Man, using duplication of the skull by means of stereolithography, started from unwrapped mummies. In our case, we could not follow the method proposed by Attardi et al. for constructing a hybrid model produced from the hard tissues of the mummy and the soft tissues of the head because the original head was completely covered by wrappings. Only the virtual removal of the bandages allowed the identification of the soft tissues so that the reconstruction of the face and soft residual tissues could be used as reference.
We avoided subjective interpretations by giving no hair, beard, or additional color to the skin.
Multidisciplinary cooperation already reported by other authors [10, 14] was essential during the different phases of reconstruction. Although we followed a strict scientific protocol, variability in the final results can be admitted because of some subjective interpretation of the forensic artist.
Facial reconstruction of mummies and corpses is important in anthropological, medical and forensic studies. CT is the only noninvasive method to obtain fundamental data for 3D reconstructions of the head and body, especially of wrapped mummies. Our multidisciplinary study produced a model of the face of a man who lived nearly 3,000 years ago, which we would otherwise have never seen unless we unwrapped, altered, and destroyed the integrity of the bandages and the mummy.
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