Bob Brier

Infectious diseases in ancient Egypt

Techniques for studying infectious disease in the ancient world are discussed. A brief survey of infectious diseases, such as schistosomiasis and malaria, in ancient Egypt is presented, and the physical traces of these diseases are examined. A discussion of the ancient Egyptian physicians response to infectious disease is included. There are two substantial sources of evidence for infectious diseases-physical remains and descriptions in Egyptian medical papyri. This preliminary survey suggests that ancient Egypt was far from the idyllic paradise on the Nile that some historians would like to imagine.

Brief communication: Twentieth-century replication of an Egyptian mummy: Implications for paleopathology

Replication in a modern human cadaver of ancient Egyptian mummification focused on tools used by ancient Egyptian embalmers, the use of natron (a mixture of sodium carbonate, bicarbonate, and chloride) in the preparation of the mummy, surgical procedures in the removal of the viscera and brain, and histologic examination of the viscera. The first three areas have been reported separately (Brier and Wade [1997] ZAS 124:89-100). In this paper, we demonstrate a degree of histologic preservation comparable to that seen in Egyptian mummies, indicating the effectiveness of ancient mummification and that the histologic appearance of such mummies is little altered by the passage of millennia.

SURGICAL PROCEDURES DURING ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MUMMIFICATION

Los autores intentaron replicar el sistema de momificacion egipcia en un cadaver humano actual y en un trabajo anterior, los autores publicaron sus resultados sobre el uso de natron en la momificacion antigua. Este informe presenta los procedimientos quirurgicos utilizados durante el proceso de momificacion

MUMAB: A Conversation With the Past.

In May of 1994, Drs. Bob Brier and Ronn Wade produced the first modern mummy embalmed in the ancient Egyptian tradition. MUMAB (Mummy, University of Maryland At Baltimore) has been studied over the intervening 18 years as part of the Mummy Replication Project, including high‐resolution computed tomography scanning, magnetic resonance imaging, and histological examination. The radiological study of MUMAB is combined here with the firsthand discussion of the processes that resulted in the mummys radiographic appearance. This allows for a close examination of the assumptions made in the radiological study of ancient Egyptian mummified human remains in a way not possible for the ancient remains themselves. Anat Rec, 298:954–973, 2015.

A radiologic study of an ancient Egyptian mummy with a prosthetic toe.

A radiologic examination (both CT and traditional X‐ray) of two mummies curated at the Albany Institute of History and Art revealed the identity of the mummified remains as well as details of the persons life style parameters (markers of occupational stress). These mummies, brought to the Institute over 100 years ago, were unstudied until 1989. This preliminary study led to the misappropriation of the remains, and subsequent switching of the remains within their coffins. Recent and more detailed analyses lead to the correct identification of sex, a re‐association of the remains to their interment coffins, as well as a detailed analysis of occupational markers. A prosthetic toe was identified in one of the mummies which lead to the functional exploration of prosthetics in the past including their use as part of funerary processing in ancient Egypt. Finally, details of the embalming process place the wrapped mummy within the time frame identified on the coffin of the mummy identified as Ankhefenmut as well as confirming his social status. Anat Rec, 298:1047–1058, 2015.

THE REMAINS OF QUEEN WERET

In the summer of 1995 the Metropolitan Museum of Arts expedition to Dahshur discovered an undisturbed burial of the Middle Kingdom and one of the authors was asked to assist with the moving of the mummy that was still in its sealed sarcophagus. When the lid was removed, the mummy and sarcophagus contents were revealed to be extremely fragile, mostly because of the high humidity (95%) in the tomb. It was clear that a lengthy and careful excavation and recording of the sarcophagus contents would be needed before the mummy could be removed. With a day free, the author was asked to examine the human remains found during excavations of several previous seasons. This paper presents the examination of Queen Weret of Dynasty XII. It should be noted that there were two Queen Werets of Dynasty XII. The body we report here is the wife of Sesostris III. Because of extensive tomb robbing during the Second Intermediate Period and subsequent periods of lawlessness, there are no complete mummies of the kings and queens of the Middle Kingdom; thus any physical remains of these rulers are extremely important. Some of the kings and queens of the Twelfth Dynasty were buried at Dahshur, about fifteen miles southwest of Cairo. The mudbrick pyramids of Amenenhat II, Sesostris III, and Amenenhat III were first excavated by Jacques De Morgan (1894-5) and in addition to these monuments, De Morgan also unearthed royal burials of Dynasty XIII. In 1990 the Metropolitan Museum of Arts team, under the direction of Dieter Arnold, began reexamining the pyramid complex of Sesostris III. Around this 60 meter high pyramid runs a brick enclosure wall. In the area between the wall and the pyramid several royal women, including Queen Weret, were buried far beneath ground level.