Health and Life in Ancient Egypt – Mummies in Focus

27th August, Tuesday / Semmelweis Medical History Museum, Library

Zoltán Arányi, the most famous mummified Hungarian boy
Krisztina Scheffer,
HNM, Semmelweis Medical History Museum, Budapest, Hungary

There are several Hungarian mummies analyzed by the Semmelweis Medical History Museum. Among these one of the most interesting case is the work of Lajos Arányi (1812-1887). He was a well-known pathology professor at the Medical University in Budapest. He developed an embalming method with which he eternalized his 6 year old son who died in diphtheria in1862. For 25 years the sorrowful father even worked with the mummified remains of his late son, Zolika on his desk. The young boy’s body arrived to the Semmelweis Medical History Museum in 1969 and was put on display both in 1925 and 2015. Another famous project of Lajos Arányi is his work on MiklósWesselényi.


„Make them visible” – exploring children in ancient Egyptian sources and their bioarchaeological context
Orsolya László PhD,
Hungarian National Museum, Archaeological Heritage Directorate, Budapest, Hungary

The study of children and childhood can provide a very important basis to a complex analysis of human populations but regarding ancient Egyptian societies they have just come into focus recently.
We can find some information of the social aspects of childhood from iconographic and written sources, but few studies discuss the funerary customs related to them or specifically focus on the bioarchaeological context which they are coming from.
We aim to give a general insight into the most recent results in the study of childhood in ancient Egypt and to share our archaeological and osteological findings which our team, the Hungarian Archaeological Mission collected during the last 20 years in the area of the noble tombs in TT 184 and the southern slope of el-Khokha, Thebes. The summary of the most recent results can help to establish new tracks for the research of this special segment of a human society.
The Mummies of the Egyptian Collection at the University of Heidelberg
Dina A. Faltings, The University of Heidelberg, Egyptian Collection at the Heidelberg Center for Cultural Heritage (HCCH)
The Egyptian Collection of the University of Heidelberg owns several mummies, dating to the Late Period, the Ptolemaic and Roman times and also has 4 from the Coptic Cemetery of Qarara, excavated between 1913-1914 by Hermann Ranke. They are special, as the dead were not mummified in the pharaonic way anymore, but are rather natural mummies, preserved by drying out quickly after burial. Outside of Egypt, such mummies are rare. It means that they still have all their inner organs, which gives us the possibility to find out more about their physical conditions.
Most of the mummies are on display in the collection and several were shown in special exhibitions like the mummy of Hetep-Amun in “MúmiaVilág” ("MummyWorld") in Budapest between 2014.10.01. – 2015.05.17.
Because mummies – after all, they are artefacts produced by humans in a certain time and space for certain reasons - used to be destroyed by research and the mummies in our collection were supposed to stay intact, there was nearly no medical or other natural scientific research done on them for several decades, except for some few x-rays. Therefore, the attention from Egyptologists or even other scientists on our mummies was low. However, the first steps in interdisciplinary research were taken in the 1990’s and non-destructive methods like CT-Scans made much more and better insights possible. More and more paleopathological analyses were made and offer at least glimpses into ancient lives.
The mummies will be presented with respect to their origin, their history and the research done on them so far.


The Lady Irtyersenu, the Egyptian Mummy who was scientifically examined and given a medical diagnosis by Dr Augustus Bozzi Granville, published in 1825
Helen D. Donoghue, Centre for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, Royal Free Campus, London, UK

‘Dr Granville’s Mummy’ was described to the Royal Society of London in 1825, after a scientific autopsy that extended over two weeks and involved the destruction of most of the human remains. The mummy was of The Lady Irtyersenu, a woman aged between 50–55 years, from the necropolis of Thebes and dated to about 600 BC. She had borne children and several organs were still in situ. Dr Granville concluded the cause of death was a tumour of the ovary, but subsequent histological investigations indicated that the tumour was a benign cystadenoma.
However, histology of the lungs revealed a potentially fatal pulmonary exudate and subsequent examination demonstrated the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA in lung tissue and gall bladder samples. This was demonstrated using nested PCR of the IS6110 locus. In addition, lungs and femurs were positive for specific M. tuberculosis complex cell-wall mycolic acids, demonstrated by high-performance liquid chromatography of pyrenebutyric acid–pentafluorobenzyl mycolates. Therefore, it is probable that tuberculosis was the principal cause of death.


New lipid biomarker data confirm the diagnosis of tuberculosis in the Granville mummy
David E. Minnikin1 Helen D. Donoghue2, Mark Spigelman2 Oona Y-C. Lee1, Houdini H.T Wu1, Gurdyal S Besra1 and John A. Taylor3
1School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham UK.
2Centre for Clinical Microbiology, University College London UK.
3Department of Ancient Egypt, The British Museum UK

The so-called “Granville Mummy” was the remains of the lady Irtyersenu from the necropolis of Thebes, dated to about 2,600 ka BP. The intact mummy was taken apart by the physician and obstetrician, Augustus Bozzi Granville and evidence of medical conditions revealed. In particular, a pulmonary exudate indicated possible malaria or tuberculosis. The use of various embalming materials during the mummification process presented a potential challenge for the extraction of DNA and lipid biomarkers. As a consequence, obtaining reproducible retrieval of DNA fragments, indicating tuberculosis, was difficult but a clear result was achieved for a sample of lung tissue. In order to assess any dissemination of tuberculosis, two separate lung specimens and a femur sample were investigated for the presence of “mycolic acid” lipid biomarkers characteristic of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The rigorous lipid extraction protocols were able to avoid problems with preservation materials and excellent mycolic acid profiles were recorded, corresponding well with standards (Donoghue et al. Proc Roy Soc B 2009).
Mycolic acid profiles are relatively similar for the whole of the so-called “M. tuberculosis” complex, so further discrimination was sought by looking alternative lipid biomarkers, the “mycolipenic” and “mycocerosic” fatty acid biomarkers. The results were not as precise as those from the mycolic acids, but one lung specimen had C27, C29, C30 and C32 mycocerosates and C27 mycolipenate. The mycolipenate is only found in M. tuberculosis sensu stricto. It can be concluded, therefore, that Irtyersenu suffered from disseminated tuberculosis, which may have contributed to her demise.


28th August, Wednesday / HungarianNaturalHistory Museum

Precious Decorated Bodies for Eternal Life: Two Late Roman Period Portrait Mummies
With a Particular Collection History Analysed by Computed Tomography
Stephanie Zesch1, Manuela Gander2, Marc Loth2, Stephanie Panzer3,4, Wilfried Rosendahl1,5, Saskia Wetzig2, Albert Zink6, Stephan Koja2
1 German Mummy Project, Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim, Germany,
2 Skulpturensammlung bis 1800, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden, Germany
3 Department of Radiology, Trauma Center Murnau, Murnau, Germany
4 Institute of Biomechanics, Trauma Center Murnau and Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Murnau, Germany
5 Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie GmbH, Mannheim, Germany
6 Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy

Two Roman Period portrait mummies from the late 3rd until the middle of the 4th century AD were recently analyzed through a scientific cooperation. The high-quality workmanship of their partially gilded mummy decoration, including a mummy portrait that was painted on a linen shroud, identifies the deceased as people of upper social status.
As far as the authors know, these are the earliest Egyptian mummies to have come to Europe that are still preserved with their original wrappings. In 1615, they were excavated by the Italian explorer Pietro della Valle in Saqqara. In 1728, they became part of the collection of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland August II (byname the Strong). Nowadays, they are kept in the Skulpturensammlung of Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden in Germany.
In 2016, a computed tomography (CT) analysis was conducted for the first time in order to determine the age at death and sex, to identify possible pathologies as well as to estimate the state of preservation, mummification, and wrapping technique.
CT analysis revealed a male between 25 and 30 years and a female between 30 and 40 years. Pathological findings include, amongst others, a congenital dental anomaly of the male and evidence of osteoarthritis in the left knee joint of the female. Both mummies show well-preserved skulls and lower limbs. The skeletal elements of the torso and the arms were disarticulated and displaced during post mortem manipulations. Remnants of the brain and the inner organs are not preserved. Hyperdense fragments inside the torso of the male seem to be a conglomerate of bones, sediments and maybe filling material. Numerous perforated circular objects about 1 cm in size inside the female’s torso could be beads of a necklace. A specification of several dense metal foreign objects in both mummies has not been possible so far. Further on, wooden boards were observed on which the bodies had been placed before the wrapping was conducted.
The CT investigation revealed detailed knowledge about the health of the deceased during life and about their state of preservation and mummification, even though not all questions are able to be entirely answered so far. The mummies are rare examples of the final phase of the mummy tradition in Egypt. They are also exceptional because their discovery site and the circumstances of discovery are documented, even though the mummies were excavated in the very early days of archaeology and mummy trade in Egypt.
Roman Egypt – leprosy and tuberculosis in the Dakhleh Oasis during the 1st–4th centuries AD
Helen D. Donoghue, Centre for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, Royal Free Campus, London, UK
In the ancient municipality of Kellis, located in the Dakhleh Oasis in the southwest desert in Egypt, there is a large Romano–Christian cemetery, Kellis 2 (K2) that has been radiocarbon dated at 50–450 AD. At the height of its occupation Kellis had 2000­–3000 inhabitants and was a significant commercial centre. Originally Kellis had a diverse population with many different beliefs but when abandoned in the mid-4th century it was already Christian. The arid climate has resulted in near-perfect skeletal preservation. This has enabled the recognition of possible leprosy cases and 151 samples, mainly of nasal concha, have been examined for Mycobacterium leprae ancient DNA. At present 18% have been identified as positive, with a higher proportion of males being infected. An earlier side-study showed that 8/10 individuals were positive for M. leprae or Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with 6/10 individuals co-infected.


Purpose and beginning of the Nephthys project
Enikő Szvák1,2, Antal Sklánitz3, Ildikó Szikossy1, Hedvig Győry4, Ildikó Pap1
1 Hungarian Natural History Museum, Department of Anthropology, Budapest, Hungary
2 University of Szeged, Ph.D. School in Biology / Humanbiology-Antropology, Szeged, Hungary
3 Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd, Budapest, Hungary
4 HEFS, Ancient Egyptian Committee, Budapest, Hungary

The Hungarian Natural History Museum has 40 ancient Egyptian mummies. Their history seemed to be simple: Philipp Back, the well-known Hungarian merchant in Cairo and Middle-East had a mission to Middle-Egypt with the scientical leadership of Tadeus Smolensky. After the division of the finds, he presented most of his part to the Hungarian National Museum, from its Ethnographical Collection the „mummy-coffins” were moved to the Museum of Fine Arts, where they were opened, and most of the human remains were moved to this Museum. They all were believed to come from the Gamhud cemetery in Middle-Egypt, and thus got the name „Gamhud-mummies”. After the investigation of their history it turned out to be more complicated and multi-provenienced, as will be shown in the lecture.
The Project started as a PhD study of these mummies, but expanded so much, that it developped into an extensive project. The aim is to learn as much about the mummies as possible concerning not only their history, but also the personal details as sex, age, health state, physical conditions, life conditions, social situation, together with the way and method of mummification process and materials, maybe the funeral.
To reach this goal several other mummies were also investigated and drawn into the research, as e.g. the Gamhud remains in the Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) in Vienna and other Hungarian and Europian mummies. For the examinations several other institutions were also incorporated into the project, which has for the moment 4 Hungarian museums, the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Mannheim Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, 6 universities and 5 companies as members. The expansion of the research necessitated to find a proper name which is the NEPHTHYS PROJECT.


The elemental analysis of the Gamhud mummy artifacts: bone fragments and textiles
Zsófi Sajtos1, Anett Nyíri1, Enikő Szvák2,3,4, Edina Baranyai1
1 Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Inorganic and Analitycal Chemistry, Atomic Spectroscopy Partner Laboratory, University of Debrecen, Hungary
2Ph.D. School in Biology /Humanbiology-Antropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
3Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
4Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary

In this study elemental analysis of bone remains received from the Hungarian Natural History Museum by a destructive ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy) technique were carried out as well as preliminary analyses were utilised by a non-destructive FTIR (fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) method on textile and bandage samples. All the remains studiedare part of the burial of Gamhud, Egypt.
In order to optimize the sample pre-treatment and ICP-OES analysis human teeth were applied. In the bone samples Ca and P were present in the highest concentration, as expected, except for vertebras in which the Na concentration was found to be above the P. Among microelements, the level of Zn was remarkably higher than the others which, together with the high Fe and Mn concentration, can indicate carnivore eating habits. The CDA (canonical discriminant analysis) evaluation of the elemental analytical results show differences between the bone types both for macro- and microelements. No significant difference occurred regarding the bones of female and male origin.
High Pb concentration was detected in a few samples. This commonly originates from occupational affection or indicate slight poisoning. The elevated Al concentration measured in the samples most probably come from the contamination of the bones after the burial.
FTIR in ATR mode was applied to conduct preliminary analysis on the received textile and bandage samples. The main aim was to determine if bitumen was present thus standard bitumen was used for comparison. Similarity in the FTIR spectra of the standard and real samples indicate the presence of bitumen but further measurements are necessary to confirm this finding as well as to identify other materials used for artificial mummification.
Results of present study can be used as one component for the wide range of analysis carried out on the Gamhud samples.
Acknowledgement: The research was supported by the EU and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the project GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00008. We would like to highly acknowledge Agilent Technologies Inc. (Novo-Lab Ltd.) for providing ICP-OES and FTIR instruments for the elemental analysis.


Spine pathology of the Ancient Egyptian Mummies – preliminary results and scientific significance
Snježana Schuster1, Antal Sklánitz2, Enikő Szvák3,4, Ildikó Szikossy3, Ildikó Pap3
1 University of Applied Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy, Central Quality Laboratory, Zagreb, Croatia
2 Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd, Budapest, Hungary
3 Hungarian Natural History Museum, Department of Anthropology, Budapest, Hungary
4 University of Szeged, Ph.D. School in Biology / Humanbiology-Antropology, Szeged, Hungary

This research is focused on spine pathology and the influence on everyday activities and lifestyle. Etiology of pathological changes on the vertebral surfaces such as Schmorl’s nodes is still unclear. Schmorl’s nodes have been associated with mechanical injuries, genetic inheritance and traumas. A number of theories which are addressing their pathogenesis have been suggested, but up to now, no consensus exists.
The aim of the research is to analyze pathological changes on Ancient Egyptian Mummies spine - Schmorl's nodes - in order to define the type of Schmorl's nodes and their influence on a possible connection on everyday activities or lifestyle.
The research is based on the following methodological studies: In the period 3/2017 - 4/2018 an anthropological and statistical analysis of osteology material (human spine) have been conducted in the Department of Anthropology of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest on samples from Gamhud site - Ptolemaic Period (5-4 century), in Northern Middle Egypt. Total of 173 vertebrae (16 mummies: 2 adult male, 2 mature male, 1 adult/mature; 5 adult female and 4 mature female; 2 not determined) were examined and analyzed. Visual and microscopic method of determining the typology of Schmorl’s nodes was applied, whereby Schmorl’s node was divided into four types - A, B, C and D. Digital Microscope Mirazoom X 9 and software support were used. The comparative anthropological analysis was used with Digital Microscope Keyence VHX – 5000 Triple R in the Central Quality Lab - Continental Hungary.
The analysis and comparison showed the presence of 36 cervical, 94 thoracic and 43 lumbar vertebrae. 3 types of Schmorl’s nodes A, B D were conducted on the vertebrae. Most frequent was Type A (cervical vertebra n=1, female; thoracic vertebra n= 4, female; n= 2, male; lumbar vertebra n= 2) and Type B Schmorl’s node. Those two types of Schmorl’s node are associated with non-developed type hernia, pointing not too strong mechanical loads of vertebrae through without any hard physical labor, the possible sudden movement under load, rotations of body and wearing the heavy equipment. Results did not show Schmorl's node at the female lumbar vertebrae.
The most incidence type of Schmorl node was type A on 16 mummies samples from the site. These results suggest a healthy spine that did not have a lot of loads.
Determination of typology of Schmorl’s node as a new methodology allows identifying ways and quality of life of individuals and can be a significant factor in identifying mechanically induced pathology vertebrae. Our observations, and preliminary results, a point at those new methodologies in the analysis of pathological changes of the vertebrae samples of the Ancient Egyptian Mummies, can help in the understanding of spine health status and predicting potential pathological changes which could be significant for future scientific evidence.


A peculiar „nose-prosthesis” in the Hungarian National History Museum - Semmelweis Medical History Museum (poster) 
Enikő Szvák1,2,3, Antal Sklánitz4, Krisztina Scheffer5
1University of Szeged, Ph.D. School in Biology /Humanbiology-Antropology, Szeged, Hungary
2Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
3Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
4Central Quality Laboratory, Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd, Budapest, Hungary
5Hungarian National Museum, Semmelweis Museum of Medical History, Budapest, Hungary

Little is known about the origins of the Egyptian mummy head curated at the collection of the Hungarian National Museum - Semmelweis Medical History Museum in Budapest which was bought originally in 1895 in Egypt. Morphooogical investigation was done. For its further research industrial CT examinations were performed, skin samples taken. The aim was to determine the way of its examination, its eventual pathological features besides the age and sex estimations. The nasal cavity revealed a unique feachure as a radial end of a carpal bone was found inside it. This case needs further reseach as the poster explains.
Acknowledgement: The supports of the Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd., the University of Nyíregyháza, the Institute for Nuclear Research Debrecen, the NOVO-LAB Ltd and the MOL Ltd. are gratefully acknowledged.


A possible case of leprosy from ancient Egypt (poster)
Enikő Szvák1,2,3, Antal Sklánitz4, Krisztina Scheffer5
1University of Szeged, Ph.D. School in Biology /Humanbiology-Antropology, Szeged, Hungary
2Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
3Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
4Central Quality Laboratory, Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd, Budapest, Hungary
5Hungarian National Museum, Semmelweis Museum of Medical History, Budapest, Hungary

The mummy head has a very defective history, as the only data about its life before getting to the Museum is its purchase in November 1953. It is in an excellent condition, with most of the skull covered gy a bandage textile. It is esteemed to be Ptolemaic. Skin and hair samples were taken, and was also investigated with industrial CT. Again, the textile is analysed.
Conditions for funeral and health state were aimed to be obtained. The preliminary morphological analysis presumed that the nose of the mummy was broken. The nasal cavity edges looked to be broken. The investigations revealed among other details, several alterations in the nose-region: possible nasal cavity infection in the form of a possible leprosy.
There are several future plans to carry out, s e.g. a microbiological analysis of bone samples to determine what kind of pathogen caused the infection of the nasal cavity.
Acknowledgement: The supports of the Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd., the University of Nyíregyháza, the Institute for Nuclear Research Debrecen, the NOVO-LAB Ltd and the MOL Ltd. are gratefully acknowledged.


Traces of autopsy on an 18th-century child mummy, Vác, Hungary (poster)
Ildikó Szikossy1,2, Kinga Karlinger3, Gergely Pölöskei3, Ildikó Horányi4, Krisztina Scheffer4, Helen D. Donoghue5, Ildikó Pap1,2,6
1Ph.D. School in Biology /Humanbiology-Antropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, (SZTE) ,Hungary
2Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
3Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
4 Hungarian National Museum, Semmelweis Museum of Medical History, Budapest, Hungary
5 Centre for Clinical Microbiology, University College London, Royal Free Campus, London, UK
6Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary

Autopsy, also known as a post-mortem examination, is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease/injury that may be present. The term derived from the Greek and Latin autopsia, meaning “to see oneself”. This examination was not very common in the 18th century. It was ordered to commit it in case of sudden death, homicide, suspected poisoning or contagion.
The study reviws eighteen century naturally mummified individuals that were explored from the Dominican Church of Vác, Hungary. Three of the 265 bodies bore traces of post mortem examination, two adult and one sub-adult person.
Based on the Hungarian writings on her coffin Mária Terézia Schwartz died in 1784. She was a member of a well-known family of Vác. Her father was a merchant; her uncle was a priest teacher. Her death was not documented in the parish death register.
The body of the 10-year-old girl (No 76, Inventory number 2009.19.76.) was examined using an endoscope, X-ray and CT.
The aim of the study is to discover evidence of any kind of disease that might cause death using endoscopic and radiological examinations. To ascertain whether the inner organs were put back into the body or were not.
By the examinations many of the internal organs can be identified; however, most of them are incomplete and they are not in the appropriate anatomical position.
The skull is intact, it was not opened, but her body. The inverse cross-shaped section from the processus xyphoideus sterni is running down to the pubic region. The lengthwise incision is of 35-cm long. The incision running trans wise is of 23-cm long. It is running at right angles, at 22 cm of the lengthwise incision. The trunk incisions are sewed. The stitches on the 2-3 mm thick abdominal wall are visible. The reconstruction of the body was accurate, shown by the traces of the very precise sewing still nicely visible on the body.
Mária Terézia was desperately ill. She had serious TB infection detected by the previous paleomicrobiological studies. She had appendicitis based on the CT scan.
It is obvious, that there were no protocols to perform the autopsy in the 18th century. The procedures were stopped when the presumptive cause of death was found.


An ancient Egyptian falcon mummy identified as a result of multidisciplinary methods (poster)
Enikő Szvák1,2,3, Antal Sklánitz4, Lénárd Szabó4, Zsuzsanna Kiss Mészáros4,Áron Béni5, István János6, Márta Dobróné Tóth6, Ildikó Szikossy1,2, Zita Szikszai7, Zsófia Kertész7, Mihály Molnár8, István Major8, Hedvig Győry9, Karola Biacsi10, Erika Molnar2, Tamás Hajdu11, Tamás Szeniczey11,Kinga Karlinger12,Edina Baranyai13, Orsolya László14, Krisztina Scheffer16, József Kovács15, Regina Hölzl17,Vanessa Tucom-Novak17, Lidija McKnight18, Ádám Pereszlényi19, Tibor Fuisz19, Erika Gál20, György Pálfi2, Ildikó Pap1,2,3
1Ph.D. School in Biology /Humanbiology-Antropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, (SZTE) ,Hungary
2Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
3Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
4Central Quality Laboratory, Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd, Budapest, Hungary
5Institute of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, University of Debrecen,(DE) Hungary
6Institute of Environmental Science, University of Nyíregyháza, Nyíregyháza,(NYE) Hungary
7Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Debrecen, Hungary
8Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear
Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, (ATOMKI) Debrecen, Hungary
9HEFS, Ancient Egyptian Committee, Budapest, Hungary
10The Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
11Department of Biological Anthropology, EötvösLoránd University,(ELTE) Budapest, Hungary
12Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
13Agilent Atomic Spectroscopy Partner Laboratory, Department of Inorganic and Analytical
Chemistry, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
14Hungarian National Museum, Laboratory for Applied Research, Budapest, Hungary
15Museum of Déri, Debrecen, Hungary
16Hungarian National Museum, Semmelweis Museum of Medical History, Budapest, Hungary
17Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung, Vienna, Austria
18The University of Manchester, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Manchester, United Kingdom
19 Bird Collection, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
20 Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Research Centre for the Humanities Institute of Archaeology, Hungary

In ancient Egypt the animals were mummified for four main types: pets, food (or victual), sacred (or cult) and votive. There were also 4 methods of animal mummification.
By a multidisciplinary research on the bird mummy using non-destructive and minimally invasive techniques we aimed to determine the taxonomic classification of the bird, as accurate as possible, its conditon under the bandage, and also to find out the mummification method, and to define the type of the mummy. We could verify, that the term "falcon mummy" used hitherto is correct, determine the way of mummification and its aim.


Ancient Egyptian human remains from the Collection of Aurél Török Preliminary results (poster)
Enikő Szvák1,2,3, Antal Sklánitz4, Lénárd Szabó4, Zsuzsanna Kiss Mészáros4,Áron Béni5, István János6, Márta Dobróné Tóth6, Ildikó Szikossy1,2, Zita Szikszai7, Zsófia Kertész7, Mihály Molnár8, István Major8, Hedvig Győry9, Karola Biacsi10, Erika Molnar2, Tamás Hajdu11,Tamás Szeniczey11,Kinga Karlinger12, Edina Baranyai13, Orsolya László14, Krisztina Scheffer15, József Kovács16, Regina Hölzl17, Vanessa Tucom-Novak17, Szirmai László18, Szőke Attila18, Zsíros Andrea18,Marcell Erdődi19, Wilfried Rosendahl20, Stephanie Zesch20,György Pálfi2, Ildikó Pap1,2,3
1Ph.D. School in Biology /Humanbiology-Antropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, (SZTE) ,Hungary
2Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
3Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
4Central Quality Laboratory, Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd, Budapest, Hungary
5Institute of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science, University of Debrecen,(DE) Hungary
6Institute of Environmental Science, University of Nyíregyháza, Nyíregyháza,(NYE) Hungary
7Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Debrecen, Hungary
8Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear
Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, (ATOMKI) Debrecen, Hungary
9HEFS, Ancient Egyptian Committee, Budapest, Hungary
10The Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary
11Department of Biological Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University,(ELTE) Budapest, Hungary
12Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
13Agilent Atomic Spectroscopy Partner Laboratory, Department of Inorganic and Analytical
Chemistry, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
14Hungarian National Museum, Laboratory for Applied Research, Budapest, Hungary
15Museum of Déri, Debrecen, Hungary
16Hungarian National Museum, Semmelweis Museum of Medical History, Budapest, Hungary
17Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung, Vienna, Austria
18MOL Ltd., Hungary
19Free assistant
20 Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Direktion Zentrum Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte, Mannheim

Aurél Török was a Hungarian anatomist professor, the founder of the Hungarian anthropology. His collection consisted of approximately 15.000 skulls from excavations, exhumations, anatomical institutes and the Paris catacomb as a gift of Paul Broca. He received the two Egyptian mummy heads from Ede Géber, researcher of syphilis, who travelled to Egypt between 1873 and 1874, and probably collected/bought the mummified remains then.
To determine the age the C14 dating was accomplished by the Rheis-Engelhorn-Museen C14 Laboratory in Mannheim, and SEM and 3D microscope were applied in search for detecting pollen and fungi. The skulls were scanned with industrial CT to discover pathological changes.
As a result, one of them has possibly Pacchioni granules and ABVI, while it seems, that the other man was healthy. The research is still going on to clear up the details.
Conserning the future, our goal is to determine the geographic origin of the mummies within Egypt, find the materials used for mummification and also their pre-museum history.
Acknowledgement: The supports of the Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd., the University of Nyíregyháza, the Institute for Nuclear Research Debrecen, the NOVO-LAB Ltd and the MOL Ltd. are gratefully acknowledged.


Partially mummified remains of a 3rd century AD individual from the Eastern Desert in Egypt: a preliminary paleopathological study  (poster)
György Pálfi, Zsolt Bereczki, Hélène Cuvigny, Jean-Pierre Brun,
PÁlfi, György 1; BERECZKI, Zsolt1; Cuvigny, Hélène2; Brun, Jean-Pierre3
1Department of Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
2CNRS, Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes, Paris, France
3CNRS, Centre Jean Bérard, Napoli, Italy

Partially mummified remains of an adult individual were recovered in the Eastern Desert in Egypt in 2007, during the excavation of the Roman praesidium of Dios that belonged to a series of small fortifications built by the Romans along the road from Koptos to Berenice. The excavation of this fort is included in a large archeological program with duration of several years (Cuvigny, 2005, 2008).
To everyone’s surprise, a grave was discovered in the rubbish dump of the praesidium. The human remains were not simply ‘scrapped’ to the dump: the body has been wrapped in a pitched shroud, presumably to prevent decomposition, and a trench had been dug in the garbage on purpose to lay the body into it.
As no anthropologist had been present at the excavation of 2007, the remains were reburied, and recently re-excavated for further investigations in 2009. Our preliminary anthropological and paleopathological study treats the remains of an approx. 160 cm tall male, who died in his sixties. Several elements of the lower limb are mummified. Remains of the hair and the beard had been in a better state during the first excavation, but the reburial and the second excavation damaged the mummified parts. However, the lack or the partial state of mummification of some parts enabled direct observation of the bones and the identification of several paleopathological conditions. Among others, traces of periapical abscesses, sinusitis and periostitis were observed on the maxillae. Severe osteoarthrosis affected the left knee and some other joints. We also observed fusion of the two third of the vertebral column. Morphology of the vertebral and extravertebral lesions suggests the etiology of a very advanced stage DISH (Resnick et al., 1975; Pálfi et al., 1992). It must be mentioned that vertebral foramens of the cervical vertebrae were also affected by hyperostosis, which may have induced neurological symptoms too.


The Curious Case of Nefersobek (poster)
Gabriela Jungová, Pavel Onderka
National Museum – Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures, Prague, Czech Republic

The National Museum – Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American cultures in Prague runs a project mapping all ancient Egyptian mummified material and associated objects that are kept in public collections of the Czech Republic. Detailed analysis of CT scans allowed for the revision of existing data and assessment of new information. Particularly interesting conclusions were made in the case of a mummy held in the collections of the State Castle Buchlov in the southeast of the country. The mummy is associated with a female-gendered bulky coffin that names its owner as Nefersobek. In the 1970s, on the other hand, the mummy was diagnosed as male. Besides resolving this discrepancy, the research project brought to light new information on the health condition of this individual that was far from good, and peculiar specifics in the mummification process, above all breast paddings. The study of the coffin also revealed previously unknown details of family relations, which led to further conclusions on the place of life and death of the deceased.


Bolivian mummy with 3 hands? – The inside story of a Bolivian mummy bundle (poster)
Ildikó Szikossy1,2,3, Mihály Molnár4, István Major4, James Schanandor6, Denise Morrison6, Antal Sklánitz5, Donna Westrich6, Enikő Szvák1,2,3, Ildikó Pap1,2,3
1Ph.D. School in Biology /Humanbiology-Antropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
2Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
3Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
4Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear
Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, (ATOMKI) Debrecen, Hungary
5Central Quality Laboratory, Continental Automotive Hungary Ltd, Budapest, Hungary
6 Union Station Kansas City, Missouri, USA

In 1939, a well-known businessman and insurance agent Robert Bryson Jones (1872-1956), an early supporter and one of the first board members of the Kansas City Museum donated South-American mummies to the Collection. The two mummy bundles were acquired during Jones’s trip to La Paz, Bolivia in the 1920s. They were put on display when the Kansas City Museum opened in May 1940.
They haven’t been seen by the public since the 1960s until they became part of the international touring exhibition, ’Mummies of the World: The Exhibition’, which made a tour stop at Union Station Kansas City, Missouri (USA) in 2017. The mummies were on display in the ’Mumie Světa’ exhibition in Prague, Czech Republic and later at the ‘Mummies of the World’ exhibition in Budapest, Hungary. Other than that, very little has been known about these mummies.
The multidisciplinary study has started on the mummies within the framework in international cooperation in 2017. During the thorough inspection of the mummies, an astonishing discovery was made. Three hands were found in one of the bundles (Mummy SA 01). Samples were taken for further investigations.
C14, radiological, chemical and paleomicrobiological examinations were planned.
The C14 examination was performed in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary to find out the age of the mummy and the third hand, and the mystery behind the “roommates”.
According to an early museum artefact interpretation and general understandings of ancient Inca Civilization, the mummies turned out to be originated from the Inca Culture and could be as old as 2,000 years or as young as 500.
The extra right hand is completely different than the others. The dark, almost black hand covered with several layers of linen was placed into the bundle, very probable years after making the bundle.
Based on the radiocarbon dating there is approximately 2500 years difference between the samples of the bundle and the bandage of the extra hand.
The “owner” of the extra hand lived during the 19th Dynasty (the second Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period) lasting from 1292 BC to 1189 BC.
The radiological, chemical and paleomicrobiological examinations are still going on.


29th August, Thursday

Paleogenetics of ancient Egyptian mummies – Insights, limitations and perspectives
Albert R. Zink, Christina Wurst, Frank Maixner
Eurac Research, Institute for Mummy Studies, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy

The analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) from Egyptian mummies offers unique possibilities for the study of their origin, family relationships and diseases. Several reports have been published on the molecular investigation of ancient pathogen DNA, revealing important information on the occurrence, frequency and evolution of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, leishmaniasis and malaria. In other studies, the feasibility of aDNA for determining the genetic relationships of Royal Egyptian mummies have been demonstrated. The introduction of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies in the study of ancient human remains allowed to recover first genome-wide nuclear data from ancient Egyptian mummies and thereby provided first insights into Egypt’s population history. The findings further helped to put to rest the controversy about the possibility of recovering reliable ancient DNA from such mummies.
Nevertheless, the analysis of aDNA from Egyptian mummies is still often hampered by the presence of substances that may inhibit the extraction and amplification of DNA, such as embalming material introduced during the mummification process. Other factors, such as the hot and dry climate of Egypt contribute to DNA degradation that could lead to the presence of only low levels of endogenous DNA. Although the excellent overall preservation of mummies makes them a valuable source for paleogenetic studies, it is necessary to understand the specific requirements for optimized aDNA extraction and subsequent analytical steps.
In this presentation, the potential and limitations of paleogenetics studies of ancient Egyptian mummies will be discussed.


“Starting from the back: studies, diagnostics and conservation treatments of Usai’s mummy face down”
Cinzia Oliva1, Daniela Picchi2
1Free lance Textile Conservator
2Curator of the Egyptian collection, Museo Civico Archeologico, Bologna, Italy

The mummy of Usai, son of Nekhet and Heriubastet (MCABo EG 1975) belongs to the Egyptian collection of the Archaeological Museum in Bologna. This mummy and two related coffins arrived in Bologna in 1861, via the testamentary bequest of the Bolognese painter Pelagio Palagi (1775-1860), who collected 3,109 Egyptian antiquities during his life. In 1831 he bought this funerary set from Giuseppe Nizzoli, the Austrian chancellor in Egypt from 1818 to 1828. The mummy and coffins are listed in a catalogue published by Nizzoli in Alexandria of Egypt in 1827, in which the author highlights the excellent state of conservation of the mummy as well as the amazing iconography of the coffins.
Recently, it became necessary to clean and consolidate Usai’s wrappings. The conservation project started in 2017, after a sudden worsening of its general condition. The results of the preliminary diagnostic investigations, including radiocarbon dating and 3D Computed Tomography, confirmed the mummy’s sex as male, dated the mummy between 821-740 BC, the same period of the coffins, and provided useful information on previous treatments.
The mummy was in poor condition, partly due to the natural ageing of the bandages and mainly to the conservation treatment performed in the second half of the 20th century. The superior external shroud was covered with a thick layer of adhesive, which altered the aspect of the linen, making it brittle and very fragile. Because of this, it was very difficult to pursue the study of textiles and proceed with the planned diagnostic test.
We then decided to start the work on the back of the mummy, where the textiles and organic remains were free of any consolidation and contaminants. We then proceeded with the “turning upside down” of the mummy. We made a kind of frame and adapted an inflatable surgical mattress (usually used for the handling of poli-traumatized patients) to our needs. The “turning” was easy, safe and economical, with no excess materials for disposal, in perfect accordance with modern standards in conservation sustainability.
Working from the back allowed a full view of a different state of conservation of bandages and organic remains, we have been able to study the textiles (with attention to technical data like fibres, dyes, weaving, fringe, stitches and seams) and proceed with the sampling for diagnostic (radio-carbon dating, sampling of resin and fibres).
The conservation treatment proceeded with the cleaning operation and the consolidation of the back of the mummy, with the insertion of several shaped padded cushions inside the body in order to fill the gap which remained as a result of the lost bandages and loss of organic remains.
To consolidate the mummy we chose to wrap it completely in a nylon net, dyed in the proper colour, sewn on itself.
We then turned the mummy on the front and completed the operations on that side, with special care to head’s bandages.
Special attention was paid to the mechanical support to allow for a safe and correct handling of the mummy.


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in paleopathology: experience from PASTLIVES project and Egyptian mummies collection from the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb
Čavka M, Novak M, Jankovic I, Uranic I, Kalafatic H
Egyptian Collection of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Croatia

The Egyptian Collection of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, Croatia includes 19 mummified specimens (5 complete mummies, 3 human heads, and several mummified human body parts, as well as mummified animals). Between 2008 and 2013, X-rays, CT and MRI scanning has been applied to the sample, resulting in scientific publications and conference presentations. In the process, several obstacles, such as dehydrated state of the samples, were encountered. For those, the use of Ultra Short Echo (UTE) has been particularly useful.
Within the research project titled "Reconstructing prehistoric (Neolithic to Bronze Age) lifestyles on the territory of Croatia (PASTLIVES)", skeletal remains of over 400 individuals, dating from the early Neolithic to the late Bronze Age, have been analyzed using the multidisciplinary approach. Here we present the overview of results of MRI analyses of mummified remains, as well as new results of the use of this technique on cremated remains from the Late Bronze Age and evaluate the usefulness of this technique in paleoradiology.


An unusual ancient Egyptian mummy skull within a Roman period stucco head
Andreas G. Nerlich1, Stephanie Panzer3, Philipp Schneider2, Christine Lehn4, Oliver Peschel4, Christian Hamann5, Roxane Bicker6, Sylvia Schoske6
1Institut für Pathologie, München-Bogenhausen
2Klinik für Radiologische Diagnostik, Klinikum München-Bogenhausen;
3Abteilung Radiologie, Unfallklinik Murnau und PMU Salzburg;
4Institut für Rechtsmedizin der LMU München;
5Leibniz-Labor für Altersbestimmung und Isotopenforschung, CAU Kiel;
6Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, München, Germany;

The Bavarian State Collection for Egyptian Art houses an unusual stucco head that has roughly been dated into the Roman Imperial Period. Since its exact provenance is unknown, we further examined the object. A CT scan revealed inside the stucco cover an adult human skull consisting of a complete calvarium including face bones and the maxilla, but a complete absence of the mandible and any cervical bones. The skull is covered by a brown textile surface, eye balls are formed of fabric and the ethmoidal plate is defect showing the typical features of ancient Egyptian embalming. Furthermore, the skull reveals male facial traits, open cranial sutures and minimal tooth wear suggesting young adult age of 20-30 years. Considerably after death the maxilla must have been separated from the mandible under dry conditions since several tooth crowns of the right maxilla are broken and sheared off laterally. Through the actual neck opening we obtained small tissue samples from the skull base, the adjacent linen cover and additionally more loosely woven linen between the “inner” linen and the stucco surface which were all used for radiocarbon dating. This indicates an age of the human material between 200 and 40 BC, of the inner linen between 45 BC and 55 AD and the outer linen between 130 and 240 AD. Accordingly, the skull must have been prepared around 45 – 40 BC; the mummy has then been “reused” c. 170 to 280 years later. Stable isotope analyses on the skull bone further indicate a balanced diet well compatible with Egyptian climate influence, but without evidence for marine components, suggesting advanced social level of the individual. Although we have no evidence for any historically identified individual we believe that this must have been a person of Ptolemaic Egypt (dying around 40 BC) that was “important” enough to have his skull preserved for long time by the stucco cover.


The Sicily Mummy Project. Advances in the study of the Sicily mummies
Dario Piombino-Mascali1, Karl Reinhard2, Stephanie Panzer3, Albert Zink4
1Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
2School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, USA
3Department of Radiology, Trauma Center Murnau, Murnau, Germany
4Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac, Bolzano, Italy

The mummified heritage of Sicily, studied since 2007, has yielded a significant amount of bioarchaeological information. Therefore, twelve years after the beginning of the Sicily Mummy Project, we wish to present an overview of the main findings, as well as illustrate the outcomes of the first Mummy Studies Field School, organized since 2016 in the medieval city of Santa Lucia del Mela. Ethical aspects in the investigation of these catacomb mummies and future activities are also discussed.


The Sapieha family: an investigation of mummified remains in the Church of Saint Michael, Vilnius, Lithuania
Dario Piombino-Mascali1, Rimantas Jankauskas2, Justina Kozakaitė2
1Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
2Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

In the spring of 2017, the authors of this paper were granted the opportunity to inspect a subterranean chamber located in the Church of Saint Michael, one of the many architectural masterpieces of Vilnius, Lithuania. This building, which shows Renaissance and Baroque elements, was originally founded in the late 16th century, and was completed by the early 17th century. It was commissioned by Lew Sapieha, a prominent figure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A rich and powerful magnate, he was known for his wisdom as a lawyer and military commander, he was one of the greatest leaders at the times of the Duchy’s highest cultural flourishing. Upon inspection, the crypt revealed to contain 21 coffins, three of which turned out to be empty. In total, a minimum number of 18 individuals was observed, with some coffins containing more than one individual. Two of the subjects belonged to children, and the remainder pertained to adults. Twelve of the cases were completely mummified, whereas three of them were partially preserved and another three were completely skeletonized. Our preliminary survey revealed that these are most likely spontaneous mummies, as evisceration was only evident on two individuals. Both sexes were represented, as well as two social categories including the nobility and the clergy. Interestingly, the main coffin, which belonged to Lew Sapieha himself, contained the remains of a vigorous, robust male. His older age at death was consistent with historic records, according to which the aristocrat died aged 76. In addition to members of this important family, the church revealed another crypt nearby. There, the remains of Dorota Siedlczyńska, a nun that was killed by the Cossacks in 1655, were also inspected and showed evidence of perimortem trauma. Within the framework of the Lithuanian Mummy Project, these important remains will be carefully studied anthropologically, radiologically and genetically, combining historic sources to biological and medical details.


Conserving Egyptian Mummies: A Difficult Relationship Between Past and Present
Cinzia Olivia
Free lance Textile Conservator

The international debate about the exhibition of human remains had aroused ethical conflicts and issues about the opportunity of having dead bodies on display in our museums, even in Italy where the display of bodies (or parts of them) is strongly related to the catholic culture (i.e. relics).
Most of these problems came from the legacies of colonialism and imperialism, but due to an increasing pressure from the media and the public, we are obliged to find a satisfactory balance between the respect that an artefact deserves and allowing the visitor to get a full understanding of it. As conservators, we all agreed to adhere to a general code during the handling, storage and display of human remains. This implies special attention, respect and care to the artefacts and I would like to highlight the emotional and distressing emotions that can be present when carrying out conservation work in the presence of the dead.
Therefore, as these mummies originate from ancient Egypt, it is very difficult to avoid these issues, as the artefacts are still the most fascinating from that world and we, as conservators, are faced with the challenge of finding a way to display them with the greatest of respect. Any treatments that involve human remains and their accessories (wrappings, cartonnage, shrouds, bead nets, etc) create a sort of filter, which can conceal, reveal or highlight different aspects of the objects, and the conservator is always responsible and emotionally involved in this decision.
Furthermore, due to their history, most of the Egyptian mummies underwent some sort of damage and pillaging, and consequent conservation treatments, which revealed to be inadequate over time. Today, we face many problems: do we remove or conserve these treatments? At the same time, we must decide whether to change the original displays according to the new procedures of displaying textiles connected to human remains.
The topic will be illustrated through examples from different museums in Italy and the many methods I used to conserve them, related to the cultural and anthropological context in which they arrived and are nowadays displayed.
There are several pillaged mummies (from the Museo Egizio in Turin and from the Archaeological Museum in Venice), partially or totally unwrapped ones, (Museo Civico of Milan and Rovigo), those that underwent invasive past treatments (a child mummy from Modena). There are also two artefacts from the Archaeological Museum in Naples: one fake mummy, created in the early 1800’s, and two pairs of feet from original Egyptian mummies, wrapped in a fragment of a painted shroud and exhibited inside a typical Neapolitan glass-bell.
All the artefacts exhibited signs of damage due to atmospheric pollution, mechanical stress and excessive light, which caused physical and chemical breakdown in the fibres or the entire structure. They were all cleaned and consolidated and when necessary, a proper mechanical support was made, in order to sustain and conserve the mummy.


The Mummification Bandage Jnsderivations in Ancient Egyptian Language
Mohsen El-Toukhy
Egyptology/Ancient Egyptian Language at Faculty of Archaeology - South Valley University, Luxor

The word jns is commonly referencingrelated to the red color. The expressionjnsj which means the “Red Linen/ Cloth” is derived from this, expressing a material or garment in the texts. It gives the meanings of red linen, red cloth, red garment or fabric, and red bandage or mummifying bandage. Several different positions are referenced with the usage of this expression, especially in divine names and titles (such as: nb-jns, nbt-jns, jmj-jns.f, and jnsjtj) each of them is related to a specific God (Osiris, Re, Hathor, Mut, Sekhmet, Bastet, and Sekhmet-Bastet-Rat). There is a feast related to jnsj (HAb-jns) as well.
Additionally, the word jnst (plant with red flower) could be derived from jns. This paper is presenting the word jns, its different writings in different positions, each gives a special meaning, and it is importance to be participated in several divine names in Ancient Egypt until the end of the late period and before the Greco-Roman period.


Anise, a Chapter in Ancient Egyptian Pharmacopoeia
Hedvig Győry1, Éva B. Héthelyi2
1HEFS, Ancient Egyptian Committee, Budapest, Hungary
2Hungarian Chemical Society, Budapest, Hungary

One of the best known commercial product is the fruit of the umbelliferious plant, anise (Pimpinellaanisum) used for culinary, liquor or medicinal purposes. Its sweet flavor and essential oil are much appreciated by many. Yansoun in Arabic, is cultivated all over the Mediterranean but also in Hungary - sincethe Roman occupation. Its cultivation goes, however, back to pharaonic Egypt.
Already ancient Egyptians used it to various purposes.During the presentationthese ancient Egyptian ways of use will be discussed together with contemporary concepts. As it is often administered also in folkmedicine, ethnopharmacy and ethnobotany give copious comparative material to the treatments and prescriptions, as well as data collected by pharmacobotanical analyses.
The essential oil is produced by Clevenger steam distillation and analyzed by GC, for the structural identification GC/MS method is employed, and for the direct phytochemical identifications from the fruit the SPME – GC/MS technic is applied.


Unexpected intentional burnt human remains in Kom Ombo temple, Egypt. Anthropological aspect
Afaf Wahba
Ministry of Antiquities, Egypt

This talk presents preliminary anthropological research from the Ground Water Lowering Project (GWLP) in Kom Ombo (2018) carried out by CDM Smith and funded by USAID. The archaeological monitoring of the GWLP consisted of salvage excavation and recording of archaeological material encountered during the engineering project, and within tight time constraints. Thence, the osteological analysis aims to investigate the skeletal remains which were discovered from the excavation. The site of Kom Ombo is located on the East bank of the Nile, 45 km. north of Aswan in Southern Egypt. The site is known mostly by the Ptolemaic /Roman temple but includes settlement (and cemeteries) from other periods.
The archaeological monitoring revealed skeletal human remains of two different periods and in two different places within the site. The earliest group excavated dates to the Late Old Kingdom / First Intermediate Period and consisted of six articulated burials. These were part of a bigger cemetery as more burials can be seen in the section but were not excavated due to the time challenge. These burials include non-elite superstructure burials with shallow vaults on top of each other in addition to more elaborate understructure individual vaulted tombs. They both represent funerary structures and occupation before the construction of the Ptolemaic temple.
The second group dates to the Ptolemaic period and is represented by numerous inhumations of burnt bones, which were unexpected. By the end of 2018 season, 25 individuals (till now) had been identified from an isolated structure (Test Pit 32) to the east of the Temple tell. Two chambers were excavated, and each contained the remains of several individuals, all of whom showed signs of in situ burning. The discovery of these remains is the start point for future research about these unexpected and unique burnt skeletal materials.


Hypocephali and Gates
John Gee,
Brigham Young University, USA

The instructions for making a hypocephalus in the final rubric of Book of the Dead 162 say that the deceased can use it to pass through the gates. To date this claim has not been explored. In this paper I will demonstrate how phrases found on hypocephali match up with identical phrases on the walls of temple gateways and how both make allusions to the creation text from Esna. I will then explore what this intertextuality might mean for understanding the hypocephali that were placed at the head of Egyptian mummies.


Blessing of curse the consumption of red wine and alcoholic drinks in ancient Egypt
Anna Blázovics1, Balázs Zsigmond Horváth2, Hedvig Győry3
1Department of Pharmacognosy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
2Pogány Frigyes Vocational Secondary School, Budapest, Hungary
3HEFS, Ancient Egyptian Committee, Budapest, Hungary

Although the Egyptians did not suffer from water shortages in the Nile Valley, they had scarce drinking water due to diseases caused by floods and Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni digenetic trematode in the water. As such, to avoid diseases and infections, they were drinking alcohol even when they were small children. Most commonly used alcoholic beverages include wine, beer and alcoholic fruit juices. The different types of wines were also essential in various religious rituals even in excess for certain occasions such as on Hathor's drunkenness holiday.Wine can be found in many healing recipes as well.
Liver and bowel diseases caused by alcohol could shorten the life expectancy already in ancient times. Life style including the Mediterranean diet and the excessive alcohol consumption (main interest in wines here) were not necessarily conductive to a healthy and long life. The presentation reveals the ambivalent role of resveratrol (that can be found in the red wine) in the development of liver disease in the light of the latest research results. The analysis will include the review of polyphenols of red wine (flavonoids and stilbenes).


Artistic Solution or useful prosthesis
Balázs Zsigmond Horváth1, Hedvig Győry2, Anna Blázovics3
1Pogány Frigyes Vocational Secondary School, Budapest, Hungary
2HEFS, Ancient Egyptian Committee, Budapest, Hungary
3Department of Pharmacognosy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

The lecture is presenting achievements of ancient Egyptian surgery which is documented by visual and written sources. Their diagnosis, treatment but also palliative care is pictured well in the Smith papyrus or in some other medical papyri, which are documented from the New Kingdom period. Their prescriptions and protocolls, however, originate often from much earlier times, as even archeological finds with medical cases prove it. Their knowledge in wound management, splinth administering is amasing as well as the different drug therapies. In addition to anatomical knowledge and wound management techniques, functional prostheses are even more impressive – based on the two known cases of toe-prostheses.
It seems, they practised it with success.
Theoretically, they could also make operations, even amputations, as they had surgeons to do such bloody works. The medical procedures and recipes recorded on papyri suggest that, although ancient Egyptians were not aware of the concept of antibiotics, they were used. Medicinal plants have antibacterial, antifungal effects to relieve pain and make the healing process safe.
But what is the reality? In recent years, X-ray and CT examinations provide reliable answers to many questions. We wonder, what mummies say about artificial limbs, the reason of their use, and about surgical interactions in vivo.


Sculpting craniofacial reconstructions of two Egyptian mummies from Ahmim site from the 1st millennium B.C.
Ágnes Kustár1, András Balikó2, Enikő Szvák3
1Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary.
2 Szentendre, Hungary.
3 University of Szeged, Ph.D. School in Biology, Humanbiology-Antropology, Szeged, Hungary.

Craniofacial reconstruction aims at the revival of has-been persons. The aim of our study was to create the sculpting craniofacial reconstruction of two Egyptian mummies held in the Museum of Fine Arts (Budapest) and in the Calvinist Collection of Pápa, based on the copy of the skull in order to reveal their true features. Both original Egyptian sarcophagus and mummy was donated for the ancient institutions in the 19th Century. The coffins’s iconography were considered to be unique in Hungary and they are even true rarity all over the world. The coffins of Hori and Hortesnaht were excavated from the necropolis of Ahmim, from the Ptolemaic period.
First we made an exact replica of the original skulls to carry out craniofacial reconstruction on that. To best preserve the original condition of the mummies, we applied the rapid prototyping (RP) technology that is adequately accurate and does not harm any mummified remains. A CT scan was made of the heads at the Semmelweis University (Budapest) and at the International Medical Centre (Győr) then the plastic copy was created by selective laser sintering (SLS) based on the virtual 3D skull reconstructed from the digital data. Craniofacial reconstruction was carried out by the traditional sculptinganatomical method, based on scientific methodological guidelines. During the process, soft tissues of the face were reconstructed following the formal characteristics of the bones so that they would loyally represent the true facial features. The end result facial reconstructions show us the authentic features of a tiny and gracile young woman and a small but sturdy middle age man resting since 3.000 years in the coffins.