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03/31/2012 05:46 PM

Modern technology being used to find ancient information

It's the most popular exhibition at the Albany Institute of History and Art. But Saturday, part of the Ancient Egypt display is taken out of the museum to unwrap a mystery. YNN's Beth Croughan has more.

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ALBANY, N.Y. -- There were no sirens as the Five Quad Ambulance made its way to the Albany Medical Center. On board wasn't your average patient. Upon arrival, volunteers removed one of the Albany Institute of History and Art's two mummies; about 3,000 years old and carefully covered during transport.

"We get a chance to play detective. We've got two mummies, we're not sure about a lot of things about them. We're not sure about their age, their sex, what kind of occupations they had," said Egyptologist Dr. Bob Brier.

Using X-Ray and CT Scan machines researchers and radiologists will work to uncover new information about this ancient egyptian history.

"The mummies arrived in Albany in 1909 and they've been on continuous view ever since," explained Tammis Groft, the Institute's Chief Curator.

The information discovered by doing these X-Rays and Cat Scans will then be put on display next fall (2013) at the Albany Institute of History and Art.

"You know they'll be x-rays up on walls, they'll be able to see how these people lived. We'll be able to look at the dentition, the teeth and say 'oh she had terrible teeth and why she had terrible teeth," said Dr. Brier.

A documentary regarding the transport and exams is expected to be released later this year.

The exhibit "GE Presents: The Mystery of the Albany Mummies" will open in September 2013.