There is a belief that you should not touch the mummy, since it can impose a curse. But recently, with the help of the latest technologies, archaeologists were able to establish that many of the embalmed representatives of the ancient Egyptian elite were rather unlucky themselves during their lifetime.
Cause of death
After conducting a thorough analysis of the skin proteins of three Egyptians buried more than 4 thousand years ago, scientists have come to an interesting conclusion. In their opinion, infectious and oncological diseases are the most probable cause of death.
Ancient Egyptian "Dark Age"
Presenting the results of their work in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, the study authors indicated that they were able to determine the ages of the three mummies under study using radiocarbon analysis of the tissues in which the bodies were wrapped. It follows from this that all these people lived in the so-called first intermediate period. It is also called the "Dark Age" of Ancient Egypt because of the strong and prolonged aridity, which brings starvation with it.
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As you know, constant malnutrition and dehydration weaken the body's immune system, while greatly increasing the risk of contracting infectious diseases. Ancient Egypt was no exception. Many ancient texts from this period mention "chaos and death" among the local population.
What killed these people?
Researchers have studied three mummies that are in the Italian city of Turin in the Egyptian Museum. The proteins of the first of these, named Idi, contained a tumor suppressor called DMBT-1, as well as transglutaminases. Both of these substances simultaneously appear in the human body in pancreatic cancer.
In the skin tissues of the second mummy, which was named Hepeshet, types of proteins were found that appear during immune reactions. This suggested that at the time of death, the body of the deceased was fighting a severe infection. Due to the fact that many of the proteins found are associated with lung infections, the researchers speculated that Hepeshet most likely died of tuberculosis. Perhaps this is where the legend of the curse of the tombs originated: the spores of this disease, preserved in the sarcophagus, when it was opened, fell on archaeologists, who then died.
Unfortunately, the third mummy did not have the amount of skin protein required for analysis, so the exact cause of death could not be determined. But despite this, such research allows you to open a "window" into the mysterious past, allowing you to find long-lost elements of the ancient world.
Oksana Grabenko
