CAIRO, EGYPT—Live Science reports that the face of Ramesses II has been reconstructed from his 3,000-year-old mummified remains by a team of researchers led by radiologist Sahar Saleem of Cairo University. Because Ramesses II (reigned ca. 1279–1213 B.C.) died in his 90s, the researchers also employed “age regression” software to produce an image of how he might have appeared at age 45. Data from Saleem’s new computed tomography scans of the pharaoh’s skull were assembled into a 3-D image, which Caroline Wilkinson of Liverpool John Moores University used to reconstruct his face with computer software usually used in criminal investigations. Computer-generated imagery was then used to add skin, eyes, and hair to the detailed 3-D reconstruction. To read about the recently unearthed burial of Ramesses' economic minister, go to "The Treasurer's Tomb."
