Radiologists unveil mysteries of the past\. CT and -ray examination of ancient burial contents from archeological excavations
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Archaeology, anthropology, ethnology |
| Keywords | CT; X-ray; archeology; anthropology |
| Description | Authors wish to present horizons of radiology reaching beyond medical applications and its potential to offer valuable information to our archeologist/ anthropologist/ art historian colleagues that would be otherwise lost or won in time-consuming and labourous alternative conservation processes. Within 2003-2007 we examined over 40 various archeological specimen (skeletal remains, artifacts, sculptures, burial vases) in cooperation with various archeological and historical institutions. The specimen were examined on digital X-ray, multidetector CTs or both modalities, if found advantageous. The raw data were further digitally processed on standard diagnostic CT workstation in a manner that would yield the best visualisation of elements searched for by the archeologist/ anthropologist/ art historian. Basically, there were three types of specimen 1. Ancient statuettes and artifacts. The highlight of the portfolio was examination of the Venus of Dolní Věstonice (DV 1), one of only 3 pieces of similar kind in the world, 28.000 BP, and mammoth ivory statuette of man believed to be a shaman from Brno (Brno 1), 23.680 BP and other paleolithic artifacts. CT shows well structure, composition and defects of ancient sculptures from which it was possible to guess sequence of manufacture, composition of the material, possible mistakes in subsequent conservation, original and post-extraction defects etc. In some cases the findings were surprising and new. 2. Skeletal remains. Several skulls were examined, e.g. the Mladeč skull, the oldest Homo sapiens in Central Europe. The results were used for anthroplogical comparison studies, assesment of healed and post-mortem injuries, anthropometric measurements etc. 3. Burial remains, either in excavated blocks of compact/fossilized material that contained the burial, or in the form of burial vases that had (or not) votive artifacts in them.Unsurprisingly, the best visualisation was achieved of high-density material in X-ray-transparent or semi-transparent environment. Thus were found bone fragments, pieces of ancient jewelry, weaponry, etc. that were in a highly corroded state and in spite of great care during conservation their extraction from fossilized pieces would inevitably cause extensive damage, in some cases extraction would be technically impossible. CT or X-ray usually localized the oxidized artifacts quite well and pinpointed vessels containing historically valuable material. Individual artifacts were then digitally separated and virtual 3D model of the piece was made. X-ray and CT offer easily valuable information that might represent a important data for the archeologist, anthropologist or art historian. Non-destructive nature of imaging is of utmost importance in artifacts with immeasurable historical value. New scanners and postprocessing software gain more naturalistic and detailed imaging and information than ever. |
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