In JAMA this week, researchers from the excellently named Swiss Mummy Project show that the imaging technology is not only useful for live patients—it can also be used to examine those who are long-dead and wrapped in bandages.

The image above is of the head of an Ancient Egyptian mummy who died more than 3,000 years ago, showing  the internal and external lamina (where the arrows are), and a high signal where “embalming related substances” have accumulated around the eyes and mouth cavity.

“Ancient human mummies are a unique source to study the evolution of disease,” the mummy project authors write. MRI is particularly useful for its ability to visualise dry tissues without rehydration, they note.  On other mummies, they were able to see tissues with a high content of collagen type I such as the anuli fibrosi of the intervertebral disk, plus arteries, ligaments, bone marrow, meninges, and teeth.