Swedish museum to let visitors virtually 'unwrap' mummies

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, July 1 (UPI) -- A Swedish museum says it plans to digitize its mummy collection in 3D using photos and X-ray scans to allow visitors to unwrap a real mummy in digital form.

The permanent exhibition at the Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm, allowing visitors to virtually explore what is inside a mummy's sarcophagus, is scheduled to open in the spring of 2014.

Museum experts say they will scan six mummies, compiling data from photos and X-ray scans to create high-resolution 3D digital models in a process called reality capture technology.

"We aim to set a new standard for how museums work with 3D digitization and interactive visualization to make collections more accessible to other museums, researchers and museum visitors," Thomas Rydell of the Swedish Interactive Institute told the BBC.

Museum visitors will be able to see details like carving marks on a sarcophagus as they "unwrap" a mummy by stripping away virtual layers of the wrapping, revealing artifacts buried with the body.

"The technology will enable our visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the men and women inside the mummy wrappings," said Elna Nord, producer of the exhibition.