Research on the mummies of Akhmim began with the well-known autopsy of the mummy known as PUM II (Pennsylvania University Museum II), performed by a multidisciplinary team led by Aidan Cockburn in 1973. With the development of CT (computed tomography), the study of mummies was put on a new, non-invasive footing. The dispersed mummies of Akhmim were a focal point of early CT research both in Hannover, Germany and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA).

In 1986, a team assembled by the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) examined two mummies from Akhmim which had been part of the MPM collection for over a century. Its work product included some of the earliest mummy CT-scans carried out, and inspired the creation of a database on Akhmimic mummies in collections worldwide. Beginning in August 2001, the project team began working with mummy-owning institutions in the U.S. to scan mummies for research purposes. The first of these reconnaissances was performed on the mummy of the woman Pesed, owned by Westminster College Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, (AMSC-1). Westminster College's Dr. Samuel Farmerie, and Rev. Willis McGill provided important background information bearing on the acquisition of the mummy. Radiological services were donated by Pinnacle Health System of Harrisburg, PA, and Pesed's mummy was exhibited in the nearby Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts (October 2001- January 2002). 

Project staff performed a second mummy scan in November 2003 in collaboration with the Reading Public Museum (RPM) and Reading Hospital. Study of the RPM mummy, a female named Nefer-ii-ne (AMSC-2), provided abundant comparative information which aided the analysis of Pesed. The Akhmim Mummy Studies Consortium was formed to continue this analytical process. 

All member institutions have provided financial support to AMSC. Its connection with staff of the Milwaukee Public Museum has accelerated its entry into the field of mummy forensics. GE Healthcare, involved in some of the early scans done in the Milwaukee area, has recently made its scanning facilities in Waukesha, Wisconsin available to AMSC. Valuable and on-going technical support is provided to AMSC by Pinnacle Health System in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Pinnacle's CT facilities are used in the post-processing of mummy CT scans into 3D reconstructions and other analytical imagery. Additional assistance in this area is provided by BDIAL, the Bioanthropology and Digital Image Analysis Laboratory at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. 

In 2005, the Akhmim Mummy Project became an on-going and sustained effort to understand the ancient population of Akhmim by means of CT-scans performed on mummies from the site. The research is coordinated by AMSC (the Akhmim Mummy Studies Consortium) using funds contributed by the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Reading Public Museum and Westminster College of New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. All three institutions have ancient Egyptian mummies originating from the city of Akhmim. Analysis of these mummies provided the nucleus of a data set which has grown enormously, and is available for comparison with other mummies of ancient Egyptian origin. As of June 2008, the Consortium had performed or otherwise collaborated in 18 mummy CT scans and has assisted in a broad range of other mummy related analysis and conservation endeavors.

THE CONSORTIUM DATABASE

AMSC maintains a database on archaeological materials associated with the Akhmim region. This database includes information on mummies and funerary objects from the site. The database includes a wide array of CT images CT slices, sections, and 3D reformated volumetric renderings of Egyptian mummies generated as part of AMSC's own research. AMSC has, in addition a large collection of jpeg images relating to coffin and cartonnage art of the Late Period and Ptolemaic eras. For further imformation on accessing these resources please contact : [email protected]