Siemens CT Scanner Reveals Mysteries inside Egyptian Relic

Fifteen years ago, a CT scan of Nefertiti’s bust stored at Berlin’s Altes Museum, revealed that a second structure was hidden inside. This structure was presumed to be a cast of the subject’s face, but the image resolution was too poor to be conclusive. With recent advances in CT scanning, researchers called for a repeat scan to document the structure within the bust. Results of the scan, which was conducted using a Siemens SOMATOM Sensation 64-Slice CT, are included in a National Geographic Channel television special.
With the help of one of Siemens’ highest resolution CT scanners, Prof. Wildung and Alexander Huppertz, M.D., head of the Imaging Science Institute in Berlin, as well as the National Geographic team, were able to X-ray the bust without damaging it. After the facial mold was cast, the limestone core was coated with plaster and painted. Wildung said that the portrait on the coat of plaster is not very representative and that the bust itself is of greater value in determining the features of the subject.