Benefits of CT-Scanning in Study of Post-Medieval Funerary Items

Summary

CT-scanning has for long been utilized in the research of mummified individuals, and has been a crucial method used to analyze also northern Finnish mummified human remains. Within Church, Space and Memory -project at the University of Oulu in Finland, eight individuals, mostly children, buried under floor planks of churches have been lifted up with their coffins, and taken for CT-scanning at the Oulu University Hospital. The CT-scans have proved to be suitable also for studying coffins, funerary textiles and associated accessories. This poster will present both benefits and restrictions of this method. CT scans densities of substances and allows analysis of substance surfaces and internal structure. Limitations include separating adjacent substances with similar densities. CT-scanning images for instance reveal tree rings of the coffins, mattress materials, different layers of textiles, and metal artefacts covered by fabrics. In our enquiries we have also micro-CT-scanned individual textiles from archaeological contexts. Micro-CT-scanning enables detailed study of textile structures and sewing patterns. Individually scanned items include caps and knitted products with multiple textile layers that otherwise could not be studied without breaking the items. The greatest benefit of this method is the undestructive research that allows to peek inside textile structures and coffins.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21937