By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News

Jan. 10, 2005 — Ancient Egyptians — unlike their Muslim modern descendents — had a taste for pork, according to a mummy autopsy.

In a study to be published in the coming months in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Fabrizio Bruschi, a pathologist from Italy's Pisa University, and colleagues report the discovery of the oldest known case of cysticercosis — a pig-related disease — in a mummy from the late Ptolemaic period (II-I century B.C.).

Often contracted from undercooked pork, cysticercosis is an infection caused by the pork tapeworm Taenia solium.

Known as the "mummia di Narni," from the town in central Italy where it is kept, the mummy belongs to a young woman about 20 years old. Most likely an upper-class lady, she rests in a beautiful wooden sarcophagus.

"Unfortunately, disrespectful hands removed the bandage," said Edda Bresciani, the Egyptologist who first studied the mummy in 1987.

Embalmed with a technique that required evisceration followed by re-deposition of the internal organs in the body cavities, the mummy was in ideal condition for autopsy.

On removal of the stomach and its rehydration, the researchers noticed a cystic lesion in the stomach wall.

"Light microscopy of sections derived from this lesion revealed a cyst of 6x4 mm in size, with numerous projecting eversions. This is a characteristic feature of the larval stage of the human tapeworm Taenia solium. Immunohistochemical testing confirmed the cysticercosis diagnosis," Bruschi told Discovery News.

Uncommon in the industrialised world, cysticercosis nevertheless affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide. Endemic areas include Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, India, and East Asia.

The infection occurs when the tapeworm larvae enter the body and form cysts.

Once inside the stomach, the tapeworm eggs disseminate in the bloodstream.

Although cysticerci may be found in almost any tissue, the most frequently reported locations are the muscle and the central nervous system.

Symptoms, which can occur months to years after infection, include mood swings and epilepsy.

The mummy's diagnosis confirms that pigs were herded and raised in the Hellenistic Egypt.

Indeed, archaeological finds of pig bones indicate that pork has been an element of diet at different times in Egyptian history.

"Throughout ancient Egyptian history, pigs were associated with the god Set/Seth, the 'evil' broth of Osiris. During times when worship of Osiris was in the ascendency, pork was rejected as food; during times when worship of Seth was in the ascendency, pork was enjoyed," Louis Grivetti, professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis, told Discovery News.

According to Grivetti, who co-authored the book "Food: The Gift of Osiris," this means that pork was eaten during the 19th dynasty when various kings named Seti (beloved of Set/Seth) ruled, and when other kings named Rameses ruled.

Followers of Osiris would have rejected pork as food.

The fact that the mummy dates from the late Ptolemaic period (II-I century B.C.) poses intriguing questions.

"I know of no text, whether in Egyptian or Greek, that identifies banquet meals where pork was served during late Ptolemaic times," Grivetti said.

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