Ibrahem Badr

Followers

Following

Co-authors

Public Views

Uploads

Papers by Ibrahem Badr

New Insights on Mummification Techniques During Ancient Egypt's Middle Kingdom Period (2055-1782 BC) Using Non-Destructive CT-Scanning of the Mummy of Lady Amanit, Priestess of Hathor

Journal of The General Union of the Arab Archaeologists, Aug 28, 2023

An Analytical Study of Magical Wax Figurines Found in the Mummy of Tjanefer from the Third Intermediate Era Using CT Scanning as a Non-Destructive Tool

Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies (Print), Jun 1, 2023

This paper aims to explore the discovery of magical wax figures in the mummy of Tjanefer from the... more This paper aims to explore the discovery of magical wax figures in the mummy of Tjanefer from the third intermediate era, and the insights obtained through the use of advanced methods such as CT scanning and Gas Chromatographic analysis. Through these methods, researcher has been able to uncover the various techniques used by ancient Egyptian embalmers to mummify bodies, including the use of wax figurines to protect the internal organs of the deceased. Computed Axial Tomography (CT) scan was an essential tool in the non-destructive detection of archaeological findings inside Egyptian mummies, enabling scholars to determine the methods used by embalmers in mummification operations. In this research, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Gas chromatography GC/MAS, and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used in addition to a CT scan to analyze the data related to the function of these figurines and to examine some samples of the materials used in making them. The results of these analyses provided valuable insights into the religious beliefs and funerary practices of ancient Egyptians, particularly with respect to the role of wax figurines in these practices. The examination of the CT scan of Tjanefer's mummy revealed that the mummification process adhered to the traditional Egyptian practice of removing internal organs, embalming them separately, and then returning them to the body cavity. The discovery of four wax statues representing the four sons of Horus within the body cavity suggests that these figurines were believed to have a protective role for the deceased in the afterlife. The analysis of the wax samples revealed that the production of these figurines likely did not require highly skilled craftsmanship. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the wax sample was impure with resins in a neutral mixture, suggesting that the production was of good quality..

Download

Study Mummification Technique on a Selected Group of Third Intermediate Period Mummies in Egyptian Meusem Using CT Scanning as Non Destructive Tool

Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies, 2015

Using advanced modern technology is considered one of the most important methods of scientific ex... more Using advanced modern technology is considered one of the most important methods of scientific examination and registration. This should be used in the field of the conservation of mummies. Identifying the case of the mummy and putting the mummy outwardly or inwardly are the first stage of good prognosis of damage, which naturally lead to the development of an appropriate plan for the operations of treatment and conservation starting from the stage of cleaning until museum presentation, through a consistent process with the requirements of preventive conservation. Computed Tomography Scanning (CT Scanning) is a noninvasive technique that does not harm the mummies. It has become an important tool for studying many features of ancient Egyptian mummies. The Study of Ancient Egypt, and particularly the examination of mummies, are subjects of interest of scientist and the public. It is fortunate that modern diagnostic methods of the study of ancient human beings can be applied today. The last forty years have seen a large number of CT scanning studies of Egyptian mummies from different museums and collections in Egypt, Europe and the USA. There is no doubt that this technique has proved to be a powerful tool in the field of Egyptian human remains research. CT studies confirm that the ancient Egyptian used several methods for the degree of quality of mummification This started with the selection of the most Suitable material to act as a filler for the internal to the body. CT studies confirm that the ancient Egyptian has used methods to support the body and maintain the external shape of the mummy. Research also stresses on the need for a new reading of the science of mummification according to the latest scientific methods of examination without any destructive activities toward the components of the various mummies. The main aim of this research is to study thoroughly the Third Intermediate Period mummies to show the level of sophistication of the technique of the mummification reached in this period.

Download

Decorated bodies for eternal life: A multidisciplinary study of late Roman Period stucco-shrouded portrait mummies from Saqqara (Egypt)

PLoS ONE, 2020

Download

Abstract 537: Atherosclerosis: Not Just a Disease of Contemporary Humans

Something old, something new—computed tomography studies of the cardiovascular system in ancient Egyptian mummies

2-Association between Anthropometric Parameters and Cardio- MJMS

Background: Childhood obesity increases risk for developing cardio-metabolic diseases. Objectives... more Background: Childhood obesity increases risk for developing cardio-metabolic diseases. Objectives: to investigate the relation of some anthropometric parameters with cardio-metabolic disease risk factors in obese children and adolescents. Subjects and Methods: Cross sectional study, comprised of 139 obese pupils; aged 8 to 16 years (classified to 3 age groups). Each pupil underwent complete physical examination, anthropometric and laboratory assessment (fasting blood sugar and lipid profile). Results: Boys had significantly higher values of abdominal skin fold thickness in the age groups II and III and in central adiposity, waist circumference, waist/hip ratio and sub scapular skin fold thickness in adolescents. For boys, fasting blood sugar correlated with most of the anthropometric measurements in young age, and with skinfold thickness in the three age groups. While lipid profile correlated with skinfold thickness particularly at subscapular area in the age groups I and II. For girls, none of the parameters under study showed any significant correlation except subscapular skinfold thickness which had significant correlations with lipid profile in age groups I and II. Conclusion: Skin fold thickness particularly subscapular; is important indicator for cardio-metabolic complications in obese children of both sexes. Obese boys are more liable to cardio-metabolic complications.

format_quoteSignificant gender differences in anthropometric parameters and lipid profiles were observed in obese children aged 8-10 years.format_quote

Download

3-Obesity Degree and Cardiometabolic Risk among School Students

Rationale: Childhood obesity is a risk factor for developing cardio metabolic diseases in adultho... more Rationale: Childhood obesity is a risk factor for developing cardio metabolic diseases in adulthood. Objective: Studying the association of cardio metabolic risk factors in students (7-16 years) with different degrees of obesity. Methods: Cross-sectional study including 169 student: 72 obese [body mass index (BMI) > 95 th percentile] and 97 extremely obese (BMI > 97 th percentile) for age and gender based on Egyptian Growth Reference Charts. Interrelationship between risk factors prevalence: hypertension, high waist circumference (WC), impaired fasting glucose, hyperinsulinieamia, insulin resistance, and dyslipideamia (abnormal TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, and triglyceride), according to age groups and degree of obesity were assessed. A set of cardio metabolic risk factors were defined for each individual, ranging from 0 (no risk factors) to 9 (all risk factors). Results: In younger age group (7-11 years), extremely obese students were proven to have higher frequencies of cardio metabolic risk factors in comparison to obese group, with highly significant differences regarding fasting glucose level and WC. Older students aged 12-16 years recorded insignificant differences in the frequency of cardio metabolic risk factors between obese and extremely obese ones. For both age groups, elevated total and LDL-Cholesterol were significantly linked to disturbances of carbohydrate metabolism; indicated by fasting glucose level. Highly significant positive interrelationships between WC and triglycerides for children, and diastolic blood pressure for adolescents were detected. Among extremely obese students, 81% of younger and 60% of older had a cluster of at least three risk factors or more in comparison to only 56.7% and 48.7% of obese. Conclusion: Cardio metabolic risk factors are associated with degree of obesity in young age (7-11 years), but not in those aged 12-16 years. Elevated triglycerides are the most common risk factors in both age groups.

format_quoteAmong extremely obese students, 81% had three or more risk factors compared to 56.7% in the obese group, highlighting severe health risks.format_quote

Download

Atherosclerosis is Common in Ancient Humans: Results of the Horus Study of Ancient Egyptian Mummies

Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2011

Background: Atherosclerosis (ath) is generally believed to be a disease of modern humans. Methods... more Background: Atherosclerosis (ath) is generally believed to be a disease of modern humans. Methods: In order to investigate the incidence of ath in ancient humans we performed whole body multislice CT scans (Siemens Emotion 6 or GE LightSpeed, 1.25 mm thickness, kV 130) on 52 ancient Egyptian mummies (aged 1800-3800 yrs) searching for arterial wall calcification. Age at death was estimated by a 5-point skeletal scoring system. Results: Of the 52 mummies (32M/18F/2unknown), identifiable arteries were present in 42, an identifiable heart was present in 17, and 43 had either heart or arteries present. Twenty of these 43 had calcifications either in the wall of an artery or along the course of an artery-diagnostic of or highly suggestive of ath. Calcifications were identified in the carotid, subclavian, iliac, femoral, popliteal, and tibial arteries and the aorta. See figure of tibial artery calcification. The 20 mummies with ath were older (mean 45.1±9.2y) than mummies with CV tissue but no ath (33.4.±11.6 y, p< .004). There were 6 mummies with ath in > 3 vascular beds and age at death of this group (46.3±4.7 y) was greater than the mummies with less extensive ath (1-2 beds) (44.6 ±10.7 y) or those with no ath (33.4±11.6 y, p<.05). The frequency of ath did not differ between genders. Conclusions: Ath can be identified in nearly all arterial vascular beds in this group of ancient humans. The finding of ath in the carotids is novel. The data suggest that genetic factors resulting in ath are more important than previously appreciated.

Download

Is atherosclerosis fundamental to human aging? Lessons from ancient mummies

Journal of Cardiology, 2014

Case reports from Johan Czermak, Marc Ruffer, and others a century or more ago demonstrated ancie... more Case reports from Johan Czermak, Marc Ruffer, and others a century or more ago demonstrated ancient Egyptians had atherosclerosis three millennia ago. The Horus study team extended their findings, demonstrating that atherosclerosis was prevalent among 76 ancient Egyptian mummies and among 61 mummies from each of the ancient cultures of Peru, the American Southwest, and the Aleutian Islands. These findings challenge the assumption that atherosclerosis is a modern disease caused by present day risk factors. An extensive autopsy of an ancient Egyptian teenage male weaver named Nakht found that he was infected with four parasites: Schistosoma haematobium, Taenia species, Trichinella spiralis, and Plasmodium falciparum. Modern day patients with chronic inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and human immunodeficiency virus experience premature atherosclerosis. Could the burden of chronic inflammatory disease have been a risk factor for atherosclerosis in these ancient cultures? The prevalence of atherosclerosis in four diverse ancient cultures is consistent with atherosclerosis being fundamental to aging. The impact of risk factors in modern times, and potentially

format_quoteAtherosclerosis was found in 76 Egyptian mummies, suggesting it is not solely a modern disease, but historically prevalent across cultures.format_quote

Download

Atherosclerosis in Ancient Egyptian Mummies

JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, 2011

The worldwide burden of atherosclerotic disease continues to rise and parallels the spread of die... more The worldwide burden of atherosclerotic disease continues to rise and parallels the spread of diet, lifestyles, and environmental risk factors associated with the developed world. It is tempting to conclude that atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is exclusively a disease of modern society and did not affect our ancient ancestors. M E T H O D S We performed whole body, multislice computed tomography scanning on 52 ancient Egyptian mummies from the Middle Kingdom to the Greco-Roman period to identify cardiovascular structures and arterial calcifications. We interpreted images by consensus reading of 7 imaging physicians, and collected demographic data from historical and museum records. We estimated age at the time of death from the computed tomography skeletal evaluation. R E S U L T S Forty-four of 52 mummies had identifiable cardiovascular (CV) structures, and 20 of these had either definite atherosclerosis (defined as calcification within the wall of an identifiable artery, n ϭ 12) or probable atherosclerosis (defined as calcifications along the expected course of an artery, n ϭ 8). Calcifications were found in the aorta as well as the coronary, carotid, iliac, femoral, and peripheral leg arteries. The 20 mummies with definite or probable atherosclerosis were older at time of death (mean age 45.1 Ϯ 9.2 years) than the mummies with CV tissue but no atherosclerosis (mean age 34.5 Ϯ 11.8 years, p Ͻ 0.002). Two mummies had evidence of severe arterial atherosclerosis with calcifications in virtually every arterial bed. Definite coronary atherosclerosis was present in 2 mummies, including a princess who lived between 1550 and 1580 BCE. This finding represents the earliest documentation of coronary atherosclerosis in a human. Definite or probable atherosclerosis was present in mummies who lived during virtually every era of ancient Egypt represented in this study, a time span of Ͼ2,000 years.

Download

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in Egyptian women: 1570 BCE–2011 CE

International Journal of Cardiology, 2013

Background: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is often thought of as a disease of modernity,... more Background: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is often thought of as a disease of modernity, a disease affecting primarily men and a disease primarily affecting members of affluent Western societies. Methods: We reviewed CT scans for evidence of vascular calcification as a manifestation of atherosclerosis in ancient Egyptian female mummies and compared the results to clinical features of contemporary Egyptian women, who are suffering from an epidemic of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Results: The common assumption that atherosclerosis is strictly a modern disease which spares women, mainly affecting men, is not true. We report the CT examination of an ancient Egyptian woman who lived more than 3000 years ago, finding calcified atherosclerotic plaque in her systemic arteries and other abnormalities probably due to prior myocardial infarction. We also confirmed recent reports of a virtual epidemic of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in contemporary Egyptian women. Conclusions: Atherosclerosis, both ancient and contemporary, is common in women as well as in men, and is related to both a genetic predisposition and to environmental factors including diet, exercise, obesity and exposure to smoke and other toxins.

format_quoteCT scans of 51 mummies revealed widespread calcified lesions in major arteries, indicating atherosclerosis was prevalent in ancient populations.format_quote

Download

Why Did Ancient People Have Atherosclerosis?

Global Heart, 2014

Computed tomographic findings of atherosclerosis in the ancient cultures of Egypt, Peru, the Amer... more Computed tomographic findings of atherosclerosis in the ancient cultures of Egypt, Peru, the American Southwest and the Aleutian Islands challenge our understanding of the fundamental causes of atherosclerosis. Could these findings be true? Is so, what traditional risk factors might be present in these cultures that could explain this apparent paradox? The recent computed tomographic findings are consistent with multiple autopsy studies dating as far back as 1852 that demonstrate calcific atherosclerosis in ancient Egyptians and Peruvians. A nontraditional cause of atherosclerosis that could explain this burden of atherosclerosis is the microbial and parasitic inflammatory burden likely to be present in ancient cultures inherently lacking modern hygiene and antimicrobials. Patients with chronic systemic inflammatory diseases of today, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and human immunodeficiency virus infection, experience premature atherosclerosis and coronary events. Might the chronic inflammatory load of ancient times secondary to infection have resulted in atherosclerosis? Smoke inhalation from the use of open fires for daily cooking and illumination represents another potential cause. Undiscovered risk factors could also have been present, potential causes that technologically cannot currently be measured in our serum or other tissue. A synthesis of these findings suggests that a gene-environmental interplay is causal for atherosclerosis. That is, humans have an inherent genetic susceptibility to atherosclerosis, whereas the speed and severity of its development are secondary to known and potentially unknown environmental factors.

Download

Decorated bodies for eternal life: A multidisciplinary study of late Roman Period stucco-shrouded portrait mummies from Saqqara (Egypt)

by Stephanie Zesch, Manuela Gander, Marc Loth, M Linda Sutherland, and Ibrahem Badr

PLOS ONE, 2020

This study focuses on the multidisciplinary investigation of three stucco-shrouded mummies with m... more This study focuses on the multidisciplinary investigation of three stucco-shrouded mummies with mummy portrait from Egypt dating from the late 3 rd to the middle of the 4 th century AD, corresponding to the late Roman Period. These three mummies were excavated in the early 17 th and late 19 th centuries in the Saqqara necropolis near the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. Two of them experienced an interesting collection history, when they became part of the collection of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland August II in Dresden, Ger-many, in 1728. The investigation includes information about the mummies' discovery, collection history and shroud decoration obtained through Egyptological expertise. In addition, information on the state of preservation, technique of artificial mummification, age at death, sex, body height and health of the deceased was achieved through computed tomography (CT) analysis. Research yielded an adult male, a middle-aged female and a young female. Due to the rather poorly preserved bodies of the male and middle-aged female, a specific technique of artificial mummification could not be ascertained. Brain and several internal organs of the well-preserved young female were identified. Wooden boards, beads of necklaces , a hairpin, and metal dense items, such as lead seals, nails and two coins or medallions were discovered. Paleopathological findings included carious lesions, Schmorl's nodes, evidence of arthritis and a vertebral hemangioma. The study revealed insights on the decoration and burial preparation of individuals of upper socioeconomic status living in the late Roman Period, as well as comprehensive bioanthropological information of the deceased.

Download

Ibrahem Badr

Uploads

Papers by Ibrahem Badr

Log In