A skull dating to the Old Kingdom bears evidence that might indicate an attempt to treat cancer, according to new research published by Tatiana Tondini, Albert Isidro, and Edgard Camarós in Frontiers in Medicine. Analysis of the skull, from the University of Cambridge’s Duckworth Collection, revealed that the 30- to 35-year-old man had a tumour with metastasised lesions. The team was surprised to find cut marks around the lesions, indicating some form of surgical intervention. This suggests an attempt was made to cut out the cancerous cells, although it is possible that it was an exploratory procedure carried out shortly after death.
Text: Sarah Griffiths
Excavating the CA archive