LEGO has helped archeologists restore a 3,000-year-old mummy case to its former shape, adding a whole new meaning to the corporate slogan: "We provide the LEGOS, you provide the creativity."
An expert built six small LEGO platforms, creating a sort of LEGO jack.
The sarcophagus, which had been in the possession of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, was in bad shape, Patheos.com reported.
"The mummy case was found in the Ramesseum at Thebes in 1896. The gilded wooden face had been torn out by robbers and the mummy removed," it said.
Exposure to damp conditions also caused structural problems along with cracking and instability in the painted decoration.
A graduate student used LEGO to conserve the cartonnage, a linen papier mache, by building ingenious little platforms to support the delicate case during conservation and a new display case with the internal LEGO supports.
Six cunning little structures made from the plastic brick were placed inside the chest cavity.
"They are adjustable using screw threads, and are padded with archival foam where they are in contact with the ancient surface," Patheos said.
The result? A sarcophagus restored to its former glory, with an internal LEGO support system.
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