Project description
Innovative study in Egyptian animal mummy wrapping weaves
Votive animal mummies represent the largest category of artefacts produced in ancient Egypt. However, they have long been neglected by scholars. The MSCA-funded SEAMS project seeks to address the current knowledge gap on contextual data of votive animal mummies and provide a thorough insight into their manufacturing process. To that end, it will use a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach that blends traditional research methods with new technologies. The project aims to reconstruct the original wrapping patterns of specimens held in international museums using photogrammetry, MSI techniques, and virtual restoration. The project will also benefit from textile and experimental archaeology protocols to understand the bandages’ interweaving stages and evaluate the economic weight of the wrapping procedures.
Objective
The SEAMS project aims to investigate the wrapping weaves of votive animal mummies, a religious phenomenon which was widely spread throughout Egypt between the Third Intermediate Period and the Roman Period (1069 BCE-380 CE ca.). SEAMS is set to fill the gap in current knowledge on the contextual data of votive animal mummies and shed light on their manufacture through an innovative multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary methodology that integrates traditional research approaches with new technologies. This study has never been undertaken before since Egyptologists have long paid relatively little attention to these artefacts. The project will contribute to the advancement of this field by reconstructing the original integrity of the wrapping patterns of specimens held in international museums through photogrammetry, MSI techniques, and virtual restoration. The multi-scalar and cross analysis of the restored 3D replicas and their related data allows the recurring patterns to be identified and grouped into typologies. The stylistic assessment of recurring wrapping weaves combined with further information from archives, fieldwork, and CT-scans enables their occurrence within a specific period and/or site to be recorded and any potential meanings unravelled. Textile and experimental archaeology protocols are set to provide an understanding of how the bandages were held in tension, what the interweaving stages were, and which tools were used. Furthermore, a comprehensive account of the quality and quantity of the resources, technologies and efforts employed permits an evaluation of the economic weight of the wrapping procedures. The research outcomes are to be widely shared through open science practices, outreach activities, a free and open access visual repository, and a temporary exhibition on votive animal mummies that will contribute towards generating knowledge about these long-neglected artefacts.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global FellowshipsCoordinator
10123 Turin
Italy