PROBING THE EFFECTS OF FIRE ON EGYPTIAN MUMMIES BY NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS ON INES

This is a pioneer neutron study on burned mummified human bones – mummies of the Egyptian Collection of the Brazilian National Museum, damaged by fire in 2018. Neutron resonance capture and neutron activation analysis in INES will be applied, to analyse four different mummies. These include a particularly interesting Roman mummy, due to its unique mummification process (1 in 7 worldwide). This experiment is expected to deliver an accurate elemental composition of the samples for distinct burning conditions and to determine the impact of the mummification process on the heat-induced effects in bone. Understanding how fire affected these mummified bones, relying on the team´s extensive expertise in studies of these types of samples by vibrational spectroscopy, is crucial for the preservation of the Museum´s collection.