Science & Technology, UK (Commonwealth Union) – A Biomedical Egyptologist at The University of Manchester, Dr. Jenny Metcalfe, successfully completed the mission of revisiting the work of a renowned Manchester anatomist from 1910. By serendipity, she stumbled upon the unique anatomical records detailing the lives and deaths of ancient Nubians in Southern Egypt, which had been thought lost during World War Two. These recording cards were found tucked away in a University of Cambridge archive.
Dr. Metcalfe, affiliated with the University’s KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology, dedicated a decade to meticulous research on the 5,000-year-old community, resulting in her book titled “The Archaeological Survey of Nubia Season 2 (1908-9) Report on the Human Remains,” published by Access Archaeology.
During the second season of the excavation in Lower Nubia, Grafton Elliot Smith, a distinguished anatomist at Victoria University Manchester (later knighted for his contributions), played a key role. Known primarily for his studies on ancient Egyptian mummification, Smith also conducted detailed examinations of ancient Nubian cemeteries affected by the construction of the Aswan Low Dam between 1907 and 1912.
The excavation, spanning four seasons from 1907 to 1911, revealed a staggering 151 Nubian cemeteries, with the discovery of 20,000 graves and 7,500 bodies along with their artifacts. This comprehensive record provides unique insights into the ancient communities along the Nile.
The meticulous work of anatomists Elliot Smith and Dr. Douglas Derry, involving the measurement and documentation of various anatomical features, has significantly contributed to the field of anthropology, according to Dr. Metcalfe. However, she acknowledges that the excavations, conducted during an era when racial stereotypes influenced the focus of research, pose challenges today. The approach, rooted in the biases of that time, has been abandoned by modern Egyptologists.
The inclusion of anatomists, specifically Smith and Derry, marked a pioneering aspect of the Nubian excavation, particularly during season 2.
Researchers pointed out that while the recording cards from seasons 3 and 4 of the Archaeological Survey of Nubia remain lost, a significant achievement lies in the complete documentation of most cards from season 2, now featured in a comprehensive book.
These cards, once thought lost, have been meticulously compiled alongside information from the limited surviving individuals in the collection and other documents. This meticulous effort has resulted in the recreation of the report that Elliot Smith and Derry had always intended to write.
Reflecting on the discovery process, Dr. Metcalfe indicated that she was perusing the archives at the Duckworth Laboratories in Cambridge when she stumbled upon the recording cards. They were mixed up with those from another excavation directed by George Reisner a few years after the Archaeological Survey.
“I recognised the cemetery numbers straight away when I saw the cards; I’ve never been so excited as it was assumed they had been kept with the season 1 cards in the Royal College of Surgeons.
“These cards, together with a lot of the bodies from the excavations, were destroyed by a bomb during World War Two.
“I then knew that I would need to research and document them, so I could give these ancient people their rightful place in the historical record.
“It is so important to give the people who lived there a voice. For so long, our understanding of the communities who lived along the Nile was incomplete. But now, we’ve found a missing piece in the jigsaw.”
She further pointed out that the study furnishes the study with an extensive array of insights into diseases, trauma, and anatomical variations observed in these ancient communities. It contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of life in ancient Nubia, aiding us in grasping the historical patterns of disease spread among diverse populations—a knowledge that remains pertinent even in contemporary times.
