Imag(in)ing Egyptology. The Bologna Coffin Project

The Museo Civico Archeologico of Bologna, in collaboration with universities, institutions, and independent scholars, has recently launched an interdisciplinary research programme on a group of six Egyptian coffins dating to the 1st millennium BC, mainly to the 25-26th dynasty (c. 746-525 BC), aimed at their study, conservation, and public valorisation. This contribution focuses in particular on the project carried out (October-December 2022) in partnership with the Politecnico di Milano, ABC Department, and financed by the Fondo Cultura of the Italian Ministero della Cultura consisting of a laser scanning and photogrammetric survey of these coffins. The geometrical features were surveyed by means of a laser scanner with a significant degree of accuracy, thanks to the fact that the adopted instrument (Artec Eva HD) allows the acquisition of a large quantity of data in a very short time. On the other hand, the photogrammetric survey carried out with a Canon reflex camera allowed the best chromatic result, achieved thanks to the employment of a professional colour checker. The potential of the application of these technologies lies in the fact that different objectives can be achieved: for convenience they can be organised in four categories, bearing in mind that they are often quite permeable and dynamic. First of all, the digital objects produced are crucial for study purposes entailing a vast range of operations that can be carried out on the digital object without involving the original. It could serve, for instance, for morphological, philological and iconographical studies. Moreover, the 3D model may play a role in a museum installation, displayed beside the material culture to enhance specific aspects and features – e.g. information on the decoration process. Additionally, another important contribution that the digitisation of these coffins could provide concerns their conservation: relying on accurate 3D survey, restorers could realise custom supports and mounts for these fragile and complex objects. Finally, replicas can be printed at full or very small scale for dissemination, educational, and commercial reasons. In this paper, the activity carried out on the coffins of the Bologna collection will be presented starting from their theoretical framework, in order to underly the great potential that the digital realm can offer in conjunction with the material realm.