Research history and ancient DNA from Dr Granville’s Egyptian Mummy

Helen, D. Donoghue (2020) Research history and ancient DNA from Dr Granville’s Egyptian Mummy. In: Aegyptus et Pannonia VI. Health and Life in Ancient Egypt. Mummies in Focus Proceedings of the Conference held 27-29th August 2019, Budapest. Magyar-Egyiptomi Baráti Társaság, Ókori Egyiptomi Bizottság, Budapest, pp. 21-26. ISBN 9786150103617

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Abstract

"Dr Granvilless Mummy" was described to the Royal Society of London in 1821 after a scientific autopsy that had extended over several weeks and involved the destruction of most of the human remains. The mummy was of a woman aged 50 yvears or so, from the necropolis of Thebes and dated to about 600 BC. She had borne children and several organs were still in sítu. Dr Granville concluded the cause of death was a tumour of the ovary, but subseguent histological investigations indicated that this was a benign cystadenoma. However, histology of the lungs revealed a potentially fatal pulmonary exudate and subseguvuent examination revealed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA in lung tissue and gall bladder samples. This was demonstrated using nested PCR of the IS6110 locus. In addition, lungs and femurs were positive for specific M. tuberculosis complex cell-wall mycolic acids. Therefore, it is probable that tuberculosis was the principal cause of death.

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