Salima Ikram

Prostate metastatic bone cancer in an Egyptian Ptolemaic mummy, a proposed radiological diagnosis

There is great interest in the history and occurrence of human cancer in antiquity and particularly in ancient Egyptian populations. Despite the number of Egyptian mummies and skeletons studied through various means, evidence of primary or metastatic cancer lesions is rare. The Digital Radiography and Multi Detector Computerized Tomography (MDCT) scans of a male Ptolemaic Egyptian mummy, from the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia (MNA) in Lisbon displayed several focal dense bone lesions located mainly on the spine, pelvis and proximal extremities. The exceptional detail of the MDCT images allowed the proposed diagnosis of osteoblastic metastatic disease, with the prostate being the main hypothesis of origin. These radiologic findings in a wrapped mummy, to the best of our knowledge, have never previously been documented, and could be one of the oldest evidence of this disease, as well as being the cause of death.

Choice cuts : meat production in ancient Egypt

Choise cuts: Meat Production in Ancient Egypt is a book about all aspects of meat processing in ancient Egypt. The book lists and examines the different types of meat consumed by the Egyptians: poultry, fish, and mammal, and their immediate by-products, such as blood and fat. The author discusses how each type of animal was slaughtered and processed for either immediate consumption or stored for later use, using pictorial, artefactual, textual, woodarchaeological, ethnographic and experimental evidence. Slaughter, jointing, and general processing locations are discussed, as well as storage locations, vessels used for storage, and transportation of animals as well as processed meat products. The book concludes with an attempt to determine how much meat was consumed in ancient Egypt, by whom, and what type. The appendices include lists of scenes showing meat processing as well as pig farming. The book has grown out of Dr. Salime Ikrams dissertation at Cambridge University. She now teaches Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, and works on excavations in Egypt and Turkey. Her specialities are daily life (especially food production) and mummification in ancient Egypt, as well as focus on faunal analysis.

Organic chemistry of balms used in the preparation of pharaonic meat mummies

Significance This unique research on the chemical composition of organic balms of food mummies completes the trilogy of mummy types known from Ancient Egypt, complementing previous investigations of human and animal mummies. Our findings show that the Ancient Egyptians prepared the food offerings they made to their dead using preservation techniques at least as exotic as those used in embalming human and animal mummies. The discovery of the precious Pistacia resin on a beef rib mummy is especially noteworthy because the use of this substance is rare even in human mummies. The funeral preparations for ancient Egyptian dead were extensive. Tomb walls were often elaborately painted and inscribed with scenes and objects deemed desirable for the afterlife. Votive objects, furniture, clothing, jewelry, and importantly, food including bread, cereals, fruit, jars of wine, beer, oil, meat, and poultry were included in the burial goods. An intriguing feature of the meat and poultry produced for the deceased from the highest levels of Egyptian society was that they were mummified to ensure their preservation. However, little is known about the way they were prepared, such as whether balms were used, and if they were used, how they compared with those applied to human and animal mummies? We present herein the results of lipid biomarker and stable carbon isotope investigations of tissues, bandaging, and organic balms associated with a variety of meat mummies that reveal that treatments ranged from simple desiccation and wrapping in bandages to, in the case of the tomb of Yuya and Tjuia (18th Dynasty, 1386–1349 BC), a balm associated with a beef rib mummy containing a high abundance of Pistacia resin and, thus, more sophisticated than the balms found on many contemporaneous human mummies.

Three-dimensional model of an ancient Egyptian falcon mummy skeleton

– The purpose of this paper is to present the first detailed three-dimensional (3D) print from micro-computed tomography data of the skeleton of an ancient Egyptian falcon mummy. , – Radiographic analysis of an ancient Egyptian falcon mummy housed at Iziko Museums of South Africa was performed using non-destructive x-ray micro-computed tomography. A 1:1 physical replica of its skeleton was printed in a polymer material (polyamide) using 3D printing technology. , – The combination of high-resolution computed tomography scanning and rapid prototyping allowed us to create an accurate 1:1 model of a biological object hidden by wrappings. This model can be used to study skeletal features and morphology and also enhance exhibitions hosted within the museum. , – This is the first replica of its kind made of an ancient Egyptian falcon mummy skeleton. The combination of computed tomography scanning and 3D printing has the potential to facilitate scientific research and stimulate public interest in Egyptology.

Excavations at Medieval Kinet, Turkey

Excavations in medieval levels at Kinet, Turkey, are uncovering remains of a Crusader era Mediterranean port town that dates from the late 12th to the early 14th century. The settlements livelihood derived from industry (iron and glazed ceramic production), agriculture, and animal husbandry as well as regional and international trade. Finds at the site indicate maritime trade around the Mediterranean as far as Italy, as well as overland trade with Syria. Medieval Kinet thrived despite being burned three times. It lay near the southern border of the Kingdom of Armenian Cilicia, astride the major trade, communication, and invasion route between Cilicia and Syria. The medieval site was orthogonally planned, possibly by the Knights Templar.

The Catacombs of Anubis at North Saqqara

Abstract Although animal cults are a widely recognised feature of religion in ancient Egypt, little is known about the nature of the catacombs and mummies associated with the temples dedicated to animal gods. Here the authors present a biography of the Catacombs of Anubis at North Saqqara in Egypt, from their peak activity in the Late Period to their exploitation in modern times for raw materials. This research highlights the hitherto unappreciated scale of burial practices associated with animal cults, and the industries they supported and were supported by. The evidence suggests that the animal cults played a significant economic role, both in ancient Egypt and in subsequent eras.

Man's Best Friend For Eternity: Dog And Human burials In Ancient Egypt

ABSTRACT There is a long history of animal burials, both ritual and pet, in Egypt. Among the many animals buried in Egypt, dogs are amongst the most commonly found. In the cases of ritual (votive) deposits, the dogs (Canis lupus familaris) are buried in groups together, far from any human remains. A handful of pet burials indicate that dogs were buried near their owners. However, recent excavations in the Fayum and Baharia Oases have yielded a hitherto unknown type of deposit, containing both dog and human remains. This paper will explore, in a preliminary study, the phenomenon of joint human and canid burials in Graeco-Roman Egypt and try to understand the precise meaning and nature of these assemblages.

An Early Dynastic serekh from the Kharga Oasis

Publication of an inscription and associated rock-art discovered during survey work in the Kharga Oasis. This includes a previously unattested Early Dynastic serekh, here dated to Dynasty 0 or the early First Dynasty. The discovery demands a re-assessment of Early Dynastic activity in the Western Desert.

The National Museums of Scotland Saqqara Survey Project 1993-1995

The National Museums of Scotland is engaged in producing an up-to-date archaeological and sub-surface geophysical map of an interesting and little explored area of the necropolis of Memphis at Saqqara. The area concerned comprises the Gisr el-Mudir (also known as the ‘Great Enclosure’) at the southern boundary, the open valley between the Sekhemkhet complex and the Gisr el-Mudir stretching north to the Serapeum and containing the L-shaped enclosure at the Old Kingdom tombs around the mastaba of Ptahhotep, the area of the Serapeum and its dependencies and the valley to the north-west of the Sacred Animal complex down to the edge of the remnant lake at Abusir in the north. Structural details, ceramics, archaeological contexts, human and animal skeletal remains from sondage trenches excavated to confirm geophysical anomalies are described and discussed.

The significance of petroleum bitumen in ancient Egyptian mummies

Mummification was practised in ancient Egypt for more than 3000 years, emerging from initial observations of buried bodies preserved by natural desiccation. The use of organic balms (and other funerary practices) was a later introduction necessitated by more humid burial environments, especially tombs. The dark colour of many mummies led to the assumption that petroleum bitumen (or natural asphalt) was ubiquitous in mummification; however, this has been questioned for more than 100 years. We test this by investigating 91 materials comprising balms, tissues and textiles from 39 mummies dating from ca 3200 BC to AD 395. Targeted petroleum bitumen biomarker (steranes and hopanes) analyses by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry selected ion monitoring (GC-MS SIM, m/z 217 and 191) showed no detectable bitumen use before the New Kingdom (ca 1550–1070 BC). However, bitumen was used in 50% of New Kingdom to Late Period mummies, rising to 87% of Ptolemaic/Roman Period mummies. Quantitative determinations using 14C analyses reveal that even at peak use balms were never more than 45% w/w bitumen. Critically, the dark colour of balms can be simulated by heating/ageing mixtures of fats, resins and beeswax known to be used in balms. The application of black/dark brown balms to bodies was deliberate after the New Kingdom reflecting changing funerary beliefs and shifts in religious ideology. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Quantitative mass spectrometry’.