Ancient Egyptians, unlike followers of the Islamic faith, had a preference for pork. Pathology researcher Fabrizio Bruschi at the University of Pisa, Italy, and his team have discovered the oldest case of cysticercosis related to pigs in a late Ptolemaic mummy (1st-2nd century BCE).
Cysticercosis is caused by undercooked pork infected with the pork tapeworm Taenia solium.
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An Exquisitely Crafted Wooden Sarcophagus |
The mummy, known as “mummia di Narni”, is located in a town in central Italy and belonged to a young woman aged 20. Being a lady of high status, she was placed in a beautifully decorated wooden sarcophagus.
“However, disrespectful hands removed the wrappings around her body,” said Edda Bresciani, an Egyptologist.
Upon removing the stomach, researchers found a lesion on the abdominal wall. “It was a wound measuring 6×4 mm, with numerous protrusions and depressions. This is a characteristic sign of Taenia solium larvae,” Bruschi explained.
While not common in industrialized countries, cysticercosis still affects about 50 million people worldwide. Affected areas include Central and South America, the sub-Saharan region of Africa, India, and East Asia.
The analysis of the mummy confirmed that pigs were raised in Egypt. In fact, archaeologists also found pig bones, indicating that pork was part of the diet of ancient Egyptians.
“In ancient Egyptian history, pigs were associated with the god Set/Seth, the sinful brother of the god Osiris. During the worship of Osiris, pork was prohibited. However, during the worship of Set, pork became popular,” said Professor Louis Grivetti from the University of California.
According to Grivetti, author of the book Food: The Gift of Osiris, this suggests that pork was consumed during the 19th dynasty when rulers named Seti (relatives of Set/Seth) and Ramses reigned.
M.T. (according to Discovery)
