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The amount of information which can be derived from the radiographic study of mummies as exemplified by a mummy of the late Ptolemaic era
Enrico Benassi Giorgio Ragni Radiologhd InsWe, Unkwsi& of Turin,
Amount of Information which can be Derived from the Radiographic Study of Mummies as Exemplified by a Mummy of the Late Ptolemaic Era* The
Z&b Received 18 April 1969
The radiographic pictures we obtained from an Egyptian mummy of the late Ptolemaic era may perhaps be of some interest. The mummy was discovered during excavations at El&jut in 1906 by the Italian Archaeological Mission, and is now the property of the Egyptian Museum, Turin. Permission to remove the mummy from the museum could not be obtained and the examination was therefore carried out with the aid of a small portable apparatus. Five separate films were exposed and were then fitted together. Had it been possible to place the machine a few yards away, the whole image could have been fitted on a single film, or sensitized paper could have been placed behind the approximately 152 cm long mummy and a single shot taken. Lack of space, however, and the nature of the apparatus that had to be employed meant that this was out of the question. After removal from its attractively painted sarcophagus, the mummy was laid on the ground on X-ray plateholders, care being taken not to crumple the bandages. Slight shadowing attributable to the dried soft parts and bitumen, or resin-impregnated linen bandages, could be seen. Much of the wrapping material was visible to the point that the network of the individual threads could be clearly distinguished. A loofah of what appeared to be flock, impregnated with a radiopaque substance, possibly bitumen, was seen as a dark shadow in the region of the symphysis pubis; this was evidently a tampon inserted in the vagina and anus after evisceration. The skeleton was fairly slender and appeared to be that of a woman; further evidence for this is offered by the name Shepset-ta-Esi inscribed in hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus. Death had occurred in old age: nearly all the teeth are missing and the alveolar margins show signs of atrophy; widespread mineralization deficiency is evident, clearly the result of senile osteoporosis and not post-mortem change. The bony network is well preserved and can readily be made out through the slight degree of opacity attributable to the mummified soft parts. Ankylosing spondylitis is evident, particularly in the lower dorsal vertebrae, with slight signs of osteophytes and deformity: the final vertebrae are linked by regular * This paper formed one of the contributions to a Symposium on Population Biology of the Early Egyptians organized by B. A. ChiareJli (Institute of Anthropology, University of Turin) and D. R. Brothwell (British Museum of Natural History, London). The Symposium was held at the Montaldo Castle (Turin) from April 16th to 18th 1969. Journal of Human Evolution (1973) 2, 47-48.
48
E.
BENASSI
AND
G.
RAGNI
bridges of newly-formed bone, mainly due to ossification of the longitudinal ligaments, giving this segment something of a bamboo-cane appearance; nearly the whole of the spinal column exhibits synostosis at the interhypophyseal joints. By contrast, the limb articulations appear normal, apart from notable decrease in the thickness of the interlines: this, however, is to be attributed to post-mortem desiccation of the incrustation cartilages rather than to disease. The right leg shows clearly-marked sequelae of an old fracture. This certainly occurred many years before death and has consolidated with a normal callus, good ossification and extensive recovery of the bony architecture, albeit along new lines of force. The tibia had been broken roughly at the junction of the medial and inferior thirds. Repair had been accompanied by a slight degree of deformity, due to medial displacement of the distal fragment; a well-formed callus is present, however. The fibula had been fractured at the lower third of the diaphysis and presents only a very slight irregularity of shape. The right leg is, moreover, a few millimetres shorter than the left. The fracture was probably repaired with the aid of immobilizing bandages. These were commonly used in Egypt, even in very much earlier periods, and are described in medical papyri, particularly the Ebers papyrus written in the sixteenth century B.C. Actual examples have also been found, applied in the case of fractures occurring shortly before death. The Turin Museum has a fine specimen on display, in which both bandages and splints can be seen. The present investigation offers another example of the way in which radiography is in a position to offer precise diagnostic data leading to the reconstruction of the history of diseases, and of their probable treatment, which occurred many thousands of years ago, without in any way interfering with these ancient corpses or their wrapping.
Plate 2. Radiographic lower leg.
detail of the old healed fracture
of the right
Plate 1. General radiographic view of the Ptolemaic mummy discussed.
Amount of Information which can be Derived from the Radiographic Study of Mummies as Exemplified by a Mummy of the Late Ptolemaic Era* The
Z&b Received 18 April 1969
The radiographic pictures we obtained from an Egyptian mummy of the late Ptolemaic era may perhaps be of some interest. The mummy was discovered during excavations at El&jut in 1906 by the Italian Archaeological Mission, and is now the property of the Egyptian Museum, Turin. Permission to remove the mummy from the museum could not be obtained and the examination was therefore carried out with the aid of a small portable apparatus. Five separate films were exposed and were then fitted together. Had it been possible to place the machine a few yards away, the whole image could have been fitted on a single film, or sensitized paper could have been placed behind the approximately 152 cm long mummy and a single shot taken. Lack of space, however, and the nature of the apparatus that had to be employed meant that this was out of the question. After removal from its attractively painted sarcophagus, the mummy was laid on the ground on X-ray plateholders, care being taken not to crumple the bandages. Slight shadowing attributable to the dried soft parts and bitumen, or resin-impregnated linen bandages, could be seen. Much of the wrapping material was visible to the point that the network of the individual threads could be clearly distinguished. A loofah of what appeared to be flock, impregnated with a radiopaque substance, possibly bitumen, was seen as a dark shadow in the region of the symphysis pubis; this was evidently a tampon inserted in the vagina and anus after evisceration. The skeleton was fairly slender and appeared to be that of a woman; further evidence for this is offered by the name Shepset-ta-Esi inscribed in hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus. Death had occurred in old age: nearly all the teeth are missing and the alveolar margins show signs of atrophy; widespread mineralization deficiency is evident, clearly the result of senile osteoporosis and not post-mortem change. The bony network is well preserved and can readily be made out through the slight degree of opacity attributable to the mummified soft parts. Ankylosing spondylitis is evident, particularly in the lower dorsal vertebrae, with slight signs of osteophytes and deformity: the final vertebrae are linked by regular * This paper formed one of the contributions to a Symposium on Population Biology of the Early Egyptians organized by B. A. ChiareJli (Institute of Anthropology, University of Turin) and D. R. Brothwell (British Museum of Natural History, London). The Symposium was held at the Montaldo Castle (Turin) from April 16th to 18th 1969. Journal of Human Evolution (1973) 2, 47-48.
48
E.
BENASSI
AND
G.
RAGNI
bridges of newly-formed bone, mainly due to ossification of the longitudinal ligaments, giving this segment something of a bamboo-cane appearance; nearly the whole of the spinal column exhibits synostosis at the interhypophyseal joints. By contrast, the limb articulations appear normal, apart from notable decrease in the thickness of the interlines: this, however, is to be attributed to post-mortem desiccation of the incrustation cartilages rather than to disease. The right leg shows clearly-marked sequelae of an old fracture. This certainly occurred many years before death and has consolidated with a normal callus, good ossification and extensive recovery of the bony architecture, albeit along new lines of force. The tibia had been broken roughly at the junction of the medial and inferior thirds. Repair had been accompanied by a slight degree of deformity, due to medial displacement of the distal fragment; a well-formed callus is present, however. The fibula had been fractured at the lower third of the diaphysis and presents only a very slight irregularity of shape. The right leg is, moreover, a few millimetres shorter than the left. The fracture was probably repaired with the aid of immobilizing bandages. These were commonly used in Egypt, even in very much earlier periods, and are described in medical papyri, particularly the Ebers papyrus written in the sixteenth century B.C. Actual examples have also been found, applied in the case of fractures occurring shortly before death. The Turin Museum has a fine specimen on display, in which both bandages and splints can be seen. The present investigation offers another example of the way in which radiography is in a position to offer precise diagnostic data leading to the reconstruction of the history of diseases, and of their probable treatment, which occurred many thousands of years ago, without in any way interfering with these ancient corpses or their wrapping.
Plate 2. Radiographic lower leg.
detail of the old healed fracture
of the right
Plate 1. General radiographic view of the Ptolemaic mummy discussed.