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Having lived 2,400 years ago, this Egyptian probably never thought that he would be subjected to the ignominies of being prodded and poked in a 21^st Century French hospital.

The mummy was found among the tombstones of Thebes and brought to France where it was examined in the taphonomy unit at the Roger Salengro hospital, in Lille and the city's natural history museum.

Radiologist Emilie Dodret, forensic scientist Valery Edouin, Judith Pargamin, the director of Lille's natural history museum and anatomy teacher Xavier Demondion examined the remains before it was scanned at the hospital.

The hospital has the latest technology to enable new paleontological research. Taphonomy is the study of decaying organisms over time and how they become fossilised.

It was not just the mummy that was analysed by the taphonomy unit as they also experimented on a fossilised crocodile.

Investigation: Forensic scientist Valery Edouin (left), the director of Lille's natural history museum Judith Pargamin (centre) and anatomy teacher Xavier Demondion (roght) examine the Egyptian mummy dating from the 3rd century BC

The mummy is about to be scanned at the Roger Salengro hospital by the taphonomy unit. Taphonomy is the study of decaying organisms over time and how they become fossilised

An Egyptian mummified crocodile is scanned at the Roger Salengro hospital by the taphonomy unit in Lille

The results of the scan showed that the mummy was intact although was covered in microbes from the years it had been wrapped

Before and after: How the mummy looked on the computer screen before and after the scan