Abstract
BackgroundIn ancient populations, a significant quantity of foot pathology was related either to the type of footwear they used or the underlying terrain they walked on. Our study was carried out to analyze these parameters with the foot pathologies the mummies presented.MethodsBetween 2006 and 2012, more than 650 individuals were recovered from the Sharuna and Qarara necropolis (Middle Egypt) dating from the VIth Dynasty of the first Ptolemaic Period to the second Coptic Period. From among them, a total of 73 mummified feet (41 from Sharuna and 32 from Qarara) were studied. We took into account the differences existing between both sites in location (15 km apart) and in time (2500 years apart).ResultsAlmost all feet from Sharuna were wrapped and impregnated with a preservative substance (anthropological mummification), while the mummification process in Qarara was quite natural. Pathologies were found in 36 of the 73 ft (20 from Sharuna and 16 from Qarara). The differences in foot pathologies between the two sites were analysed.ConclusionsThe foot pathologies we found in both necropolises have led us to hypothesise that the majority of the diachronic differences could be related more to progressive changes in the type of the terrain brought out through droughts, than the changes in footwear habits.
Highlights
In ancient populations, a significant quantity of foot pathology was related either to the type of footwear they used or the underlying terrain they walked on
In ancient populations, apart from congenital abnormalities and tumours, a significant number of foot alterations and pathologies were related to the type of footwear and the nature of the terrain
Sharuna (S1) is a large Egyptian necropolis located on the east bank of the Nile River in Middle Egypt
Summary
A significant quantity of foot pathology was related either to the type of footwear they used or the underlying terrain they walked on. These archaeological sites have revealed more than 650 individuals to date. Sharuna (S1) is a large Egyptian necropolis located on the east bank of the Nile River in Middle Egypt (about 200 km south of Cairo and 60 north of Minia). This site covers a wide range of periods between the 3rd Dynasty and the Coptic Period with the main anthropological site being the Tomb U.20. Wilkinson first mentioned this necropolis in 1835 and Nestor l’Hôte in 1838 had described the Tomb of the Pharaoh Pepi II of the 6th Dynasty as an important tomb at the site [4]
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