Six Egyptian mummies from the British Museum are about to go on display in Hong Kong, with an innovative imaging technique allowing museum goers to see a cross section of the mummified bodies.

The exhibition, Eternal Life – Exploring Ancient Egypt, will be held at the Hong Kong Science Museum from June 2 to October 18, also displaying about 200 other Egyptian artifacts. 

Three of the exhibits, including the mummy and inner coffin of Nestawedjat, a middle-aged woman in the 25th dynasty of ancient Egypt, and a pyramid-shaped capstone of a tomb, have arrived in Hong Kong and were displayed to journalists as they were taken out of crates by British Museum staff members on Monday. 

"The exhibition will take a scientific angle and allow visitors to look inside the mummies with the help of the latest computerized tomography (CT) scanning technology," said Paulina Chan, curator of the Hong Kong Science Museum.

Tomography uses X-rays or ultrasound to display a representation of a cross section of a human body or other solid object.

Museum officials said they hoped visitors would be able to learn not only how CT allows archaeologists to determine the age and gender of mummified bodies, but also more about the diet, state of health, mummification process and religious practices of the ancient Egyptians.