Eugen Strouhal

Structural stability of hair over three thousand years

Abstract Ten hair samples of Copts from the 8th–10th century AD obtained during the 1963–1964 excavation campaign in the district of Sayala, and 11 hair samples of Egyptian mummies dated to the 18th–25th dynasty were examined for their structural properties compared with recent hair samples. Structural comparison was performed using X-ray diffraction and infra-red spectroscopy. Using the attenuated total reflection technique, which allows multiple reflection infra-red spectroscopy on native hair, we were able to reveal the structural integrity of the ancient hair samples. X-ray diffraction studies using Cr-alpha radiation confirmed the infra-red results. Signs of dehydration could be observed but no conformational changes, indicating the structural stability of hair protein over thousands of years.

A Case of Osteosarcoma in a Late Medieval–Early Modern Skull from Kyjov (Czech Republic)

After the reconstruction of the original parish church of the Moravian town of Kyjov in the latter part of the seventeenth century, human skeletal remains from the disturbed graves of the surrounding cemetery were gathered in a vault which was partially excavated in 1994. Among disarticulated bones of at least 106 individuals, a fragmented skull of a young male was found, with a massive outgrowth of bone on the right parietal, originally continuing fluently on the non-preserved frontal scale, on edges lifting the outer lamina. The inner lamina was covered less intensively by the bony growth. Radiography and CT scans showed a non-homogeneous structure, the inside being irregular and the outside granulated or radially striated. A metastatic lytic focus was detected in the same bone. Histology and SEM examination showed an uneven mineralization of the bone tissue, consisting of rough, thickened and irregularly spaced trabeculae, with cellular remains or mineralized matrix on the surface. The differential diagnosis took meningioma into consideration but the most probable diagnosis was osteogenic sarcoma, which is still infrequent in the palaeopathological record from the Old World and its localization in the cranial vault is very rare.

‘Kissing’ osteochondroma: A case from Ancient Egypt

The ‘kissing’ osteochondroma is a special type of benign bone outgrowth characteristic of paired long bones. In these cases the bone tumour growing towards the adjacent paired bone causes a reactive impression and erosion on its surface. A case of the ‘kissing’ type of osteochondroma was diagnosed on the forearm bones of an individual from Ancient Egypt (Saqqara, Late Period). It is worth drawing attention to this case not only because of the rare occurrence of forearm bone osteochondroma in ancient skeletal series but also because of the possibility of misdiagnosing the lesion as a malignant bone tumour. Copyright

Two Unusual Benign Tumours in Skulls from the Ossuary at Křtiny (Czech Republic)

Among 554 skulls of adult individuals from the ossuary at K𝔯tiny, Moravia (late thirteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuryAD), three (0.54 per cent) showed evidence of malignant tumours and two others (0.36 per cent) had changes suggestive of unusual benign tumours, which are described in the present article. The calvarium of a 20–25-year-old female has two osteoplastic overgrowths in the region of the left tuber parietale and in the left lateral part of the frontal bone. A macroscopic section showed a porotic structure with regularily arranged trabeculae. This was confirmed by radiographic examination, which detected two similar smaller shadows, and by histology and scanning electron microscopy, which showed the non-lamellar, unevenly calcified structure of these curious multiple osteomatous formations (osteomas, hyperostosis). A calvarium of a 40–50-year-old male showed a horseshoe-shaped excavation in the posterior part of the processi palatini of the maxilla, with destruction of the lower half of the nasal septum and the paramedial structures of the nasal cavity. These defects were well delimited macroscopically, radiographically and histologically, and seemed to be the result of pressure atrophy, perhaps from a slow growing benign tumour such as a fibroma or angiofibroma.

A new Egyptian human mummified head in the Slovak National Museum, Bratislava

A mummified human head was recently anthropologically investigated and its provenance checked in the Anthropological Department, Slovak National Museum, Bratislava. The head is of a 35- to 45-year-old male. Its original provenance is unknown but both historical sources and the testimony of the first Hungarian Egyptologist Eduard Mahler suggest that the mummy head belongs to the Fifteenth Dynasty (Second Intermediate Period). However, the present study shows a mummification technique practised until the end of the New Kingdom, so the head could be later.

The Shaft-tomb of Iufaa - Season of 1997/98

In the course of the season of 1997/98, facsimiles of the inscriptions and scenes inside the burial chamber of Iufaa were prepared. Following that, the lid of his massive outer sarcophagus was raised and moved aside, revealing a cavity with sides inscribed in relief where a basalt inner sarcophagus rested under a layer of crushed mudbrick and gypsum mortar. Inside the inner sarcophagus, a badly damaged wooden coffin came to light with the mummy of the deceased, with a gilded face and covered with a finely worked net of faience beads. On the mummy, about 20 amulets were found, as well as golden cases on all the finger and toe tips. According to the preliminary anthropological examination, Iufaa died rather prematurely between the ages of 25 and 30.

The Tomb of Maya and Meryt: Preliminary Report on the Saqqara Excavations, 1990–1

During two seasons of work the EES-Leiden expedition excavated the tomb of Maya and Meryt. It is similar to the neighbouring tomb of Horemheb, except that the outer court is not furnished with a complete peristyle. The reveals of the pylon are decorated with reliefs to a height of 3.33 m, including scenes with Maya adoring Osiris, offering bearers, and an autobiographical text. The main courtyard appears to be unfinished. More reliefs were found in the inner court and on the reveals of the entrances to the cult chapel and flanking chapels. Some of these were recorded by Lepsius during his 1843 expedition, but some have since disappeared. The substructure is on two levels. The upper was reused for late burials, but the lower is exclusively the burial complex of Maya and his wife. Three finely decorated rooms survive here, though much was pulled down or smashed by ancient plunderers. New light is thrown on the mortuary cult of the tomb owners, and among the surviving textual material is a new hymn to Osiris. Many objects and enormous quantities of closely contexted pottery, some with hieratic dockets, were recovered. The skeletal remains will be examined in a forthcoming season.

Book Review: Egyptian Mummies: Radiological Atlas of the Collections in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden.Egyptian Mummies: Radiological Atlas of the Collections in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. By RavenM. J. and TaconisW. K., with a contribution by MaatG. J. R.. Papers on Archaeology of the Leiden Museum of Antiquities, Egyptology 1. Pp. 335. Turnhout, Brepols, 2005. ISBN 978 2 503 51701 8. Price €55.

jar heads made of clay, and even beyond his stated aims. His analysis of the techniques used to create figured ceramics and the clues to recognising them, his collation of egyptian terminology related to potters and potteries, and his extensive (though not excessive) footnotes and germane bibliography are all useful for anyone working with ceramics, particularly those studying the numerous ceramic objects that do not fit within the traditional category of simple vessels. His emic approach to the study of the work of a potter within the broader context of what we could call the arts and crafts (sculpture, painting, metalwork, carpentry, etc.), with the aim of locating the place of the potter through text, artefact, and representation, results in a deeper understanding of the trade within the egyptian context. Finally, his consideration of pottery within a religious context, as well as his cultural discussions, expand the interest of this book from the ceramic specialist to anyone with an interest in New Kingdom life.

The tomb of Iniuia: preliminary report on the Saqqara excavations, 1993

This report outlines the results of the 1993 season of the joint EES-Leiden Museum Expedition in the New Kingdom necropolis of Memphis at Saqqara. Excavations were started in the area south of the tomb of Horemheb, where a group of mud-brick tombs of the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Dynasty are situated. One of these, the tomb of Iniuia, Overseer of the Cattle of Amun and High Steward in Memphis, was excavated. One of the chapels is decorated with wall-paintings, and is the first of its kind to be found in this part of Saqqara in a reasonably good condition. The main chapel was covered with a mud-brick pyramid, the lower part of which is still in place. A number of reliefs and fragments, partly deriving from this pyramid-chapel and betraying Amarna influence, were found. The substructure of the tomb consists of two burial chambers. Progress was made with the study of pottery and skeletal material excavated during former seasons in the tomb-complex of Maya and Meryt. The tomb of Iniuia was restored and chapels A and B of the tomb of Maya were reconstructed.

Egyptian Mummies in Czechoslovak Collections

Outline of the history of research on mummies and mummification, procedures of Ancient Egyptian mummification, methods of research on mummies from Czechoslovak collections, and detailed description of human and animal mummies, survey of demographic data, dating and investigation of mummification techniques, radiological examination of mummies. Some chemical analyses of coatings and stuffings of mummies are given. -- AATA