Mystery Woman's two-thousand-year-old secret revealed (She wasn't just pregnant)
1Mystery Woman's two-thousand-year-old secret revealed (She wasn't just pregnant)
Scientists have made a new discovery about the "Mysterious Woman" who died about 2,000 years ago and became famous as the world's first known pregnant mummy. The cause of death of the ancient Egyptian mummy, who died at a very young age, was determined to be nasopharyngeal cancer. Scientists announced that the new discovery will contribute to modern medicine by helping to determine the cause of cancer.
A new study in Poland has revealed that the world's first pregnant ancient Egyptian mummy died from a rare form of cancer. Archaeologists said they discovered unusual marks while examining the mummy's skull.
DIES OF NASOPHARYNX CANCER
The mummy likely suffered from nasopharyngeal cancer, the researchers said. Nasopharyngeal cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects the part of the throat that connects the back of the nose to the back of the mouth.
However, it was previously known that the mummy, known as the "Mystery Woman," died at 28 weeks of pregnancy, but now researchers have identified a cause of death.
Images released by the Warsaw Mummy Project (WMP) in Poland showed that the skull had lesions resulting from a tumor.
Professor Rafał Stec from the Department of Oncology at the Medical University of Warsaw, working with experts at the WMP, said: “Archaeologists have detected unusual changes in the nasopharyngeal bones that are not specific to the mummification process. "Radiologists, who examined the computed tomography images, found tumor-induced changes in the skull bones," he said.
Professor Stec added that the mummy's young age and the absence of any other cause of death indicated an 'oncological cause'.
On the other hand, scientists said they are currently planning to collect tissue samples from "Mystery Woman" and compare them with cancerous tissue samples from other Egyptian mummies.
WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN MEDICINE
By thus revealing the 'molecular signature' of cancer, the researchers hope this will expand knowledge of cancer evolution and contribute to the development of modern medicine. It's also thought that more research could identify the cause of the nasopharynx (whether it's related to viral infection or genetics).
ABOUT THE MYSTERIOUS WOMAN
Research so far has shown that the "Mysterious Woman" came from the elite of the Theban community in the royal tombs of Thebes in Upper Egypt. Discovered in the early 1800s, the mummy dates back to the 1st century BC, when Cleopatra was Queen and the city of Thebes was an important trading post.
The mummy of the Mysterious Woman was taken to Warsaw, the Polish capital, in 1826, around the time some of the most important discoveries were made in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, and is now on display in the city's National Museum.
Last year, on the other hand, an examination using tomographic imaging revealed that the woman was between the ages of 20 and 30 when she died and was between the 26th and 30th weeks of pregnancy. Also, the mummy was carefully wrapped in fabrics and buried with many amulets for her comfort in the afterlife with her child. .