Rare discovery: Tumour with teeth found in 3,000-year-old Egyptian burial

A rare discovery of an ovarian tumour was made by archaeologists while excavating an ancient Egyptian cemetery. The tumour was present in the pelvis of an Egyptian woman who was buried more than three millennia ago.

The tumour, which was a bony mass and included two teeth, is being seen as teratoma's oldest known example. Teratoma is a rare type of tumour which typically grows in testicles or ovaries.

As per the Cleveland Clinic, a teratoma can be malignant or benign, and usually, it is filled with various tissues like hair, teeth, muscle or bone.

Teratomas can lead to swelling and cause pain and can even trigger infection if ruptured. In today's time, the mass gets removed through a typical treatment.

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Till now, archaeologists have found only four archaeological examples of teratomas, out of which three were in Europe and one was found in Peru. The latest teratoma discovered in the New Kingdom period cemetery in Amarna, Egypt, is the fifth archaeological case published so far.

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Oldest-ever teratoma found in Africa, first such case for the continent

This is also the oldest known example of a teratoma and the first such case discovered in Africa. The archaeologists investigated four large cemeteries, related to Amarna.

In one of the tombs present in the North Desert Cemetery, which consisted of a burial chamber and a shaft, the skeleton of a young woman was found by the researchers.

The skeleton was wrapped in a plant fibre mat and it was buried along with various grave goods, which included a deity related to childbirth, a ring decorated with the figure of Bes, fertility and protection.

While excavating, the archaeologists came across a bony mass in the woman's pelvis which had deformed teeth in two depressions.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale's bioarchaeologist Gretchen Dabbs published the tumour's discovery in the International Journal of Paleopathology.

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After ruling out other diagnoses, the bioarchaeologist and his team suggested that the presence of teeth within the pelvic region of the woman suggested that it was an ovarian teratoma.

The Bes ring hinted at the teratoma being symptomatic since the "magico-medical" object was kept in the left hand of the woman, which was folded across the woman's lap above the teratoma.

This meant that the woman "was attempting to invoke Bes to protect her from pain or other symptoms, or aid in her attempts to conceive and birth a child," the researchers wrote in their study.

"By 18-21 years, this individual probably would have been someone's wife," said Dabbs, while speaking to Live Science, but added that there is also "little doubt she was working in some fashion."

(With inputs from agencies)