Scans of an ancient Egyptian child mummy interred in a tomb 2,000 years ago have revealed they were buried with a bandaged, pus-filled, leg wound.
The child — thought to be between 2.5–4 years old — has the first-known example of an original ancient Egyptian dressing.
In 1892, the nameless girl was found in Hawara’s ‘Tomb of Aline’. This grave, which is believed to be from around 24 AD has a notable feature: three of its eight mummified inhabitants were decorated with portraits of the person.
The girl, depicted wearing simple jewellery and ringlets in her hair, is thought to have been the middle of the three daughters of Aline.
This middle-or-upper-class woman, after whom the tomb was named, was identified thanks to an inscription which also noted she died aged 35.
In an effort to find evidence of ancient infections, experts in Germany X-rayed her and twenty other mummies.
They said that the findings offer an insight into ancient Egyptian treatments and maladies.
Scans of an ancient Egyptian child mummy interred in a tomb 2,000 years ago have revealed that the 2.5–4-year-old was buried with a bandaged, pus-filled , leg wound. A X-ray slice is taken along the length of the girl’s lower leg and foot. The bandage, underneath the mummy’s textile wrappings, can be seen highlighted with a solid arrow, while hyper-dense masses that are consistent with dried pus deposits are highlighted with dashed arrows
The first known example of an authentic ancient Egyptian dress was preserved by the individual and found at Hawara’s “Tomb of Aline” in 1892. The grave dates back to 24 AD and is distinguished by the presence of a portrait on three of the eight mummified people. Pictured: The mummified girl is thought to be Aline’s child. She was covered with linen and her portrait.
Nameless girl left wearing basic jewellery with ringlets in her hair is likely to be the middle daughter of Aline (right).
The investigation was undertaken by radiologist Stephanie Panzer of the Berufsgenossenschaftliche Unfallklinik Murnau and her colleagues.
‘In ancient Egypt, infections were likely a common aspect of daily life and the major cause of death,’ the researchers explained in their paper.
The critical period of increasing physiological stress and morbidity in childhood and infanthood has been recognized for a long time.
‘However, the overall evidence of infections in ancient mummies is limited, especially in the less frequently investigated child mummies.’
Professor Panzer, along with colleagues, performed CT scans throughout the body of 21 Egyptian child mummies. These mummies were part of various collections in German and Swiss museums.
Scans showed that eleven of the mummified children had been identified as males, and eight of them were females. Two of these were indeterminate sexes.
Analyses of three child mummies revealed evidence of purulent (pus bearing) infections. One of the mummies, the nameless daughter of Aline, was found to have a bandage-like structure on her lower left leg that the team believe represents a dressed skin lesion.
The bandage was found underneath the textile wraps of her. It is thought to have been original.
It was found to have been over, as per the scans, masses of underlying tissue consistent with dry pus. This suggests that there may be an abscess of purulent cellulitis.
Although it is not clear why the bandage was placed over the wounds, researchers believe that the embalmers wanted to ensure the body was as prepared as possible for the next stage of life.
Business Insider was told by Albert Zink, paper author and Palaeopathologist at Italy’s Institute for Mummy Studies that they may have tried to carry on the healing process for afterlife.
It was found underneath the textile wraps of her mummy. The mummy’s original bandage, marked with a solid Arrow and measuring around 0.8×0.5×0.4 inches (about 20 x 12×9 millimetres in size) was believed to have been there. The scans revealed it had been placed over masses in the underlying tissue that are consistent with dried pus (highlighted with a dashed arrow) — suggesting that the child had a either an abscess or purulent cellulitis
The researchers also scanned the mummy of Aline’s youngest daughter (left) — believed to have been around 2–3 years old at the time of death — and found evidence of dried pus within part of the right hip joint (right, highlighted with an arrow), likely caused by septic arthritis
Pictured: the two scanned mummies of Aline’s daughters, seen here on display at the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany. The elder of the pair (left) was found to have a bandage covering a pus-filled wound on her lower left leg, while the youngest (right) likely had septic arthritis
The researchers also scanned the mummy of Aline’s youngest daughter — believed to have been around 2–3 years old at the time of death — and found evidence of dried pus within part of the right hip joint, likely caused by septic arthritis.
The final mummy that showed signs of infection was that of a 9–11-year-old-boy from the Ptolemaic–Roman Period (305 BC–641 AD).
Scans confirmed the presence ried masses in the lower parts of both maxillary sinuses, which lie below the cheeks on either side of the nose, indicating that he likely suffered from purulent sinusitis.
A pus-filled abscess also developed in the boy’s upper throat. It was unclear if it had come from the back of his mouth or the upper part of his throat.
‘This study appears to be the first to describe radiologically visualised structures consistent with dried pus in ancient Egyptian mummies,’ the team concluded.
These cases might serve as models for future palaeopathological research.
The investigation, they added, ‘also appears to be the first to physically demonstrate an original ancient Egyptian dressing.
‘The evidence of an original dressing contributes to our knowledge of ancient Egyptian medicine.’
Full results of the study are published in International Journal of Paleopathology.
The final mummy that showed signs of infection was that of a 9–11-year-old-boy (left) from the Ptolemaic–Roman Period (305 BC–641 AD). Scans showed that the boy was suffering from pus-filled absentia that had originated either in the lower or upper part of his mouth (left), although it was difficult to determine which.
In 1892, the first known example of an original Egyptian dress was discovered in Hawara (Egypt) by a child mummy.
HOW THE ANCIENT EGGYPTIANS MASSAGED THEIR DEATH
Pictured: a mummified corpse
The ancient civilizations used a variety of chemicals to preserve and embalm the corpses of their dead.
Russian scientists think that a different kind of balm was used for hair preservation than those applied to the rest of your body.
A balm was applied to hair using a mixture of beeswax, pine gum, and beef fat. It also included a small amount of aromatic pistachio oils as an option.
The ancient Egyptian practice of mummification was to remove the bodies’ internal organs, then dehydrate the body with a mix of salts. Finally, wrap the corpse in cloth and a balm made of oils and plant extracts.
It is believed that older mummies have been preserved in nature by being placed in dry desert soil and weren’t chemically altered.
Recent years have seen the use of gas chromatography/mass-spectrometry (GC/MS), to learn more about ancient embalming processes.
Study after study found that bodies could be embalmed using a combination of phenolic acid (like sesame or sunflower oil) and aromatic extracts (or polysaccharide sugars).
This recipe included dehydroabietic acids and diterpenoids derived from conifer resins.