Latest Egypt tomb find may shed light on ancient diseases

   Egypt’s tourism and antiquities ministry said Monday that a new discovery of 33 ancient tombs in thesouthern city of Aswan could reveal "new information on diseases" prevalent at the time. 

   The tombs date back to the Ancient Egyptian Late Period and the Greco-Roman
Periods, which collectively lasted from the seventh century BC until around
the fourth century AD.
   The burials were found by a joint Egyptian-Italian archaeological mission.
   Ayman Ashmawy, who heads the Supreme Council of Antiquities' Egyptian
Antiquities Division, said studies of the mummies "indicate that 30 to 40
percent of those buried died in their youth, as newborns or as adolescents".
   Patrizia Piacentini, professor of Egyptology and archaeology at the
University of Milan, headed the Italian side of the mission.
   She said preliminary studies on the remains showed that "some suffered from
infectious diseases, while others had bone disorders".

The remains of several adult women showed signs of pelvic bone trauma.
   Other mummies indicated "anaemia, malnutrition, chest diseases,
tuberculosis and signs of osteoporosis", Piacentini said in a ministry
statement.