Scientists have been investigating the cause of death of a 2,000-year-old ancient Egyptian mummy, which was discovered to have an unborn baby in its womb. By examining the skull, they found that this mother-to-be had probably died of cancer. This discovery was very surprising to both oncologists and Egyptologists.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, this mummy was thought to belong to a male priestess. But the groundbreaking work of the Warsaw Mummy Project has revealed that she is actually a woman. More surprises arose when they discovered it was the first known specimen of a pregnant mummy.
The Warsaw Mummy Project was stunned when CT scans of “Mysterious Woman” earlier this year revealed further evidence that the body’s pelvic cavity contained a fetus. Most notably, the fetus was effectively protected by the highly acidic and low-oxygen environment of the mummified womb.
Skull markings reportedly show signs similar to those in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer, a rare type of cancer that affects the part of the throat that runs from the back of the nose to the back of the mouth.
Wojciech Ejsmond, director of the Gebelein Archaeological Project and co-director of the Warsaw Mummy Project, said in a statement: “In the bone behind the left orbit, CT scans can show a small pathological change, about 7 millimeters in diameter, a round lesion surrounding an empty space. This is most likely a change made by a tumor, possibly a metastatic site,” he said. In addition, large cavities are found in the facial bones, including the nasal cavity, the maxillary sinuses, and the palatal part of the maxillary bones.”
Changes in the craniofacial bones in modern patients correspond to cancer of the nasopharynx.
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