85 Fennoscandia archaeologica XXVIII (2011) NOTES AND NEWS Tiina Väre, Sirpa Niinimäki, Juho-Antti Junno, Jaakko Niinimäki, Markku Niskanen & Milton Núñez COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN AID OF OSTEOARCHEOLOGY – A CASE STUDY OF MUMMIFIED REMAINS OF VICAR NIKOLAUS RUNGIUS Tiina Väre, Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, P.O. Box 1000, FI-90014, University of Oulu, Finland, E-mail: Tiina.Heikkila@oulu.fi INTRODUCTION Non-invasive imaging methods are beneficial in mummy research. Both two-dimensional radio- graphs and three-dimensional data from computed tomography (CT) are considered useful. This case study aims to explore the potentials of CT scan- ning naturally mummified human remains in Fin- land. The remains of late vicar of the Kemi parish in Northern Osthrobotnia, Nikolaus Rungius were the first to be examined using CT scanning to as- sess the preservation and pathological conditions. The corpse had mummified by natural freeze- drying almost 400 years ago. This study functions as a pilot study to evaluate the applicability of CT in the anthropometric and paleopathological study of naturally formed Finnish mummies. This new project has a broader approach to living conditions and social hierarchy in the Northern Osthrobotnia region in the past. Another aim of it is to form a digital database of the mummified remains before they decompose. Natural mummification through freeze-dry- ing is fairly common in the crypt burials of old churches in northern Finland. This was due to the cool and well-ventilated conditions under the church floors (Núñez et al. 2011). Nikolaus Rungius (ca. 1560–1629) was buried under the floor of the Church of Saint Mikael in the parish of Keminmaa, former Kemi. This crypt was probably used for burials since the church was built in the mid-16th century. Burials in the crypt continued until 1870 despite the ban of church burials in 1822. A fair proportion of the individuals buried in the crypt have mummified in varying degrees. The most famous mummy in the crypt is vicar Rungius, a well-known figure in the local folklore (Paavola 1998). METHODS A considerable amount of information, such as sex and age at death, can be acquired through external examination of the mummy. Signs of trauma and pathological skin lesions, which can be used when looking for cause of death, can be observed. Also observations of preservation and external post mortem damage of the remains can be made. In inspection of the internal parts also muscular and visceral aspects can be taken into account when assessing the health and possible cause of death of the individual. Traditionally internal examination has been made by means of autopsy or endoscopy, which lead to at least partial destruction of the mummy. In this study the objective is to utilize 3-dimensional full body CT scan as a non-invasive method to study the mummy internally. CT scanning is used in clinical medicine for diagnostic and research purposes. In institutions, such as museums, CT scanning has also been used to document and study mummified remains without damaging them. The mummified remains of Nikolaus Rungius were scanned in April 2011 using the clinical CT scanner of the Oulu University Hospital. The scan protocol was performed using the section width of 0.6 mm, reconstruction field of view of 665 mm and image matrix of 512 x 512 result- ing image voxels of size 1.3 mm x 1.3 mm x 0.6 mm. These parameters provide resolution high enough to detect fairly small details. This enables observing physical measurements and identifying pathological conditions (Fig. 1). Stature was measured from the CT scan from the base of the calcaneus to the top of the cranium. One centimetre was added to compensate the shrinkage of the soft tissue due to mummifica-