egyptology
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Scanning technique reads hidden writing in mummy boxes
Historians can use scanning to peek inside mummies without risking damage, but that hasn't been true for the papyrus boxes those mummies were placed in before entering the tomb. If you've wanted to read the discarded everyday writing on that papyrus, you've typically had to destroy the boxes. That won't be necessary from now on, though: researchers at University College London have developed a scanning technique that lets you read a mummy case's writing while leaving it intact.