Impact: development of a radiological mummy database

The Internet Mummy Picture Archiving and Communication Technology (IMPACT) radiological and context database, is a large-scale, multi-institutional, collaborative research project devoted to the digital preservation and scientific study of mummified remains, and the mummification traditions that produced them, using non-destructive medical imaging technologies. Owing to the importance of non-destructive analyses to the study of mummified human remains, the IMPACT database, website, and wiki provide a basis for anthropological and palaeopathological investigations, grounded in the most current technological imaging and communication standards, accessible through any internet connection, and protected against rapidly changing media standards. Composed of paired online radiographic and contextual databases, the IMPACT project is intended to provide researchers with large-scale primary data samples for anthropological and palaeopathological investigations. IMPACT addresses the limitations of the case-study approach to mummified human remains and contributes to the development of standards of practice in imaging of mummified remains. Furthermore, IMPACT allows researchers a greater appreciation of, and engagement with, patterns of health and disease in ancient times as well as the variability present in the mummification traditions of ancient Egypt and other cultures that sought to preserve their dead for eternity.