Plant Lipids and Fossil Hydrocarbons in Embalming Material of Roman Period Mummies from the Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

Maurer, Joachim; Möhring, Thomas; Rullkötter, Jürgen; Nissenbaum, Arie

doi:10.1006/jasc.2001.0773

Cited by 68 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…As shown previously (Rullkötter and Nissenbaum, 1988;Maurer et al, 2002;Harrel and Lewan, 2002), the sterane and terpane biomarker ratios of bitumens in the balms of Egyptian mummies of Cleopatra, Soter, Djedoler, Priest, and mummies 10 and 13 Table II. from the Dakhleh Oasis have molecular indices similar to those of oils and asphalts from the Dead Sea area (see Figures 5a, b). The latter originate from Senonian limestone, probably generated from carbonate or evaporitic sediments that were deposited under hypersaline conditions.…”

Section: Archaeological Implicationssupporting

confidence: 63%

“…On the other hand, bitumens from Mummies 11 and 12 from the Roman Period in the Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert (Maurer et al, 2002) display the characteristic hopane pattern of Ras Zaafarana oil (Barakat et al, 2002) (Figure 5d). A striking characteristic is the fairly high concentration of 17␣(H),21␤(H)-30-norhopane relative to 17␣(H),21␤(H)-hopane (C 29 /C 30 Ͼ 1), which has been observed before (Mostafa et al, 1998) …”

Section: Archaeological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, a long-standing controversy between ancient historians, who claimed the export of Dead Sea asphalt to Egypt, and modern Egyptologists, who disputed this claim, was resolved only recently when geochemical analyses showed that the bitumen used in mummies or their wooden coffins (dated from 1500 B.C. to 300 A.D.) came from the Dead Sea area in Palestine, where petroleum seeps and asphalt deposits are common (Rullkötter and Nissenbaum, 1988;Connan andDessort, 1989, 1991;Connan et al, 1992;Nissenbaum, 1992;Maurer et al, 2002). In a recent study, the molecular fossil indices obtained from gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses provided evidence that the bitumen derived from Gebel El Zeit was also used by the Egyptians at least as early as the 9th century B.C.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organic geochemistry indicates Gebel El Zeit, Gulf of Suez, is a source of bitumen used in some Egyptian mummies

et al. 2005

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Molecular geochemical properties of crude oils and surface petroleum seeps from the southern part of the Gulf of Suez were evaluated. The characterizations of individual aliphatic, aromatic, and biomarker compounds were based on gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses. The results provided strong evidence for a close genetic association of these samples. The geochemical characteristics suggest an origin from Tertiary source rocks deposited in a normal marine environment that received continental runoff. The molecular signatures of the investigated samples were very similar to those of the Lower Miocene Rudeis Formation source rock in the southern Gulf of Suez. Further, biomarker fingerprints of the investigated oil seeps were compared with those of the Dead Sea asphalt, as well as the bitumen from some Egyptian mummies reported in the literature. The results demonstrate that oil seeps from the southern end of Gebel El Zeit were used by ancient Egyptians for embalming.

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Section: Archaeological Implicationssupporting

confidence: 63%

Section: Archaeological Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organic geochemistry indicates Gebel El Zeit, Gulf of Suez, is a source of bitumen used in some Egyptian mummies

et al. 2005

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“…Chemical analyses were performed using the same methods for human and animal mummies (6,7) to ensure detection of the range of balm components detected in earlier studies, namely beeswax, animal fats and plant oils, plant resins, petroleum bitumen, and essential oils (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic chemistry of balms used in the preparation of pharaonic meat mummies

Clark

Ikram

Evershed

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The funeral preparations for ancient Egyptian dead were extensive. Tomb walls were often elaborately painted and inscribed with scenes and objects deemed desirable for the afterlife. Votive objects, furniture, clothing, jewelry, and importantly, food including bread, cereals, fruit, jars of wine, beer, oil, meat, and poultry were included in the burial goods. An intriguing feature of the meat and poultry produced for the deceased from the highest levels of Egyptian society was that they were mummified to ensure their preservation. However, little is known about the way they were prepared, such as whether balms were used, and if they were used, how they compared with those applied to human and animal mummies? We present herein the results of lipid biomarker and stable carbon isotope investigations of tissues, bandaging, and organic balms associated with a variety of meat mummies that reveal that treatments ranged from simple desiccation and wrapping in bandages to, in the case of the tomb of Yuya and Tjuia (18th Dynasty, 1386-1349 BC), a balm associated with a beef rib mummy containing a high abundance of Pistacia resin and, thus, more sophisticated than the balms found on many contemporaneous human mummies.food mummies | pharaohs | Egypt | triterpenoids | fatty acyl lipids F ood to sustain the deceased in the afterlife was perhaps the most important item in a burial and has been found in interments from the earliest periods (3300 BC) to the latest (fourth century AD). The burial of King Tutankhamun (died c. 1323 BC) comprised 48 carved wooden cases containing a variety of joints from cattle and poultry (1, 2). Virtually all of the food found in these tombs was preserved through dehydration, save for the meat, as untreated meat would not last more than a few hours in the Egyptian heat. A solution to preserving meat in the burials would have been to preserve it in the same manner as human mummies. Indeed, "meat" or "victual" mummies have been found in many high status tombs (3). Meat mummies are but one type of animal mummy produced by the Egyptians, the others including votives, pets to be left in the tomb with their owner, and sacred animals, such as the Apis bull (1, 4, 5).Hundreds of examples of meat mummies are known from ancient Egypt (see appendix II in ref. 1). Until recently, these had been neglected as objects of study and as a consequence are poorly understood. Recent investigations have established that for the most part victual mummies are joints of meat or poultry prepared as if for eating, which are wrapped, encoffined, and placed in the tomb (1,4,5). SEM has shown that salt and natron were used for desiccation (1, 5). The question that remains is whether organic balms were applied? The presence of dark residues is consistent with the appearance of balms applied to human and animal mummies (6-12). The Cairo Museum and British Museum graciously provided us with samples of tissues and balms from several meat mummies (Table 1), allowing us to assess their chemical compositions and make comparisons with...

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“…[5] Initially natural resins, gums, waxes and oils had been used to preserve the bodies. [7] Prior to 19 th century, heavy metal salts like lead, arsenic or zinc were used for preservation. [8] Presently, formaldehyde, ethanol, methanol and other solvents are major constituents of embalming fluid.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Study of Long Term Preservation of Human Cadaveric Tissue

Amin¹

2017

WJPR

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Objectives: To study the effect of long term preservation of the gross and microscopic features of cadaveric tissue using different embalming techniques. Methodology: Eight human cadavers were randomly received and embalmed in Anatomy Laboratory. Cadavers were divided into four groups. In experiment I, cadavers were embalmed with traditional gravity fed embalming technique, without pre injection, using 5 lit fluid consisting of formaldehyde, phenol, water, spirit and glycerin amounting 1 litre each. In experiment II and III cadavers were embalmed using modern electric embalming machine to introduce same embalming fluid without and with the use of pre-injection respectively. In experiment IV cadavers were embalmed using high spirit, reduced formalin and low phenol combination along with pre-injection. Gross and microscopic examination was performed at the beginning and end of 2 years period for histological examination. Results: Preservation of the gross and microscopic features of human tissues was better in experiment III in which arterial injection was given with mechanical pump method along with pre-injection. In gravity fed method, hardening, browning and fragility was maximum and histological structure of skeletal muscle and neurovascular structures was of poor quality. Conclusion:The long term preservation of human cadaveric tissue at gross and microscopic level for academic purposes can be achieved with the use of arterial injection through mechanical pump along with pre-injection using 5-7 l of embalming fluid. Increasing water or spirit content improves resilience, decrease hardening but promotes fungal growth.

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Plant Lipids and Fossil Hydrocarbons in Embalming Material of Roman Period Mummies from the Dakhleh Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt

Cited by 68 publications

References 23 publications

Organic geochemistry indicates Gebel El Zeit, Gulf of Suez, is a source of bitumen used in some Egyptian mummies

Organic geochemistry indicates Gebel El Zeit, Gulf of Suez, is a source of bitumen used in some Egyptian mummies

Organic chemistry of balms used in the preparation of pharaonic meat mummies

Comparative Study of Long Term Preservation of Human Cadaveric Tissue

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