Ancient Egyptian Medicinal Practices Part 8: Ancient Egyptian Water-related Diseases part 1
Ancient Egyptian Water-related Diseases part 1
As was discussed previously, water is central to all of Egypt. It is ever present in the Nile River and it’s annual flood and is provided to the Oases through the sandstone aquifer known as the Taref formation (Giddy: 1987, 4). Canals both in the Oases and in the Nile Valley allow for many water plants to grow that otherwise would be hard pressed to survive in Egypt. The plants create an ecosystem for creatures, such as fish and snails, to survive (Drisdell: 2007). Standing water in these canals also allow insects such as mosquitoes to thrive (“Mosquitoes”).
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis comes from a parasite, the Bilharzia worm that alternates between two hosts, a human and a snail. The Bilharzia worm begins the cycle by penetrating the skin of a human and entering the veins (Nunn: 1996, 68). The adult worms mate in the portal vein, which leads from the bowels to the liver. The eggs are deposited in the veins of the bladder and rectum. The eggs travel through the bladder, creating sores that lead to blood in the urine of the host, known as haematuria (Nunn: 1996, 63). Once the eggs leave the body and reach fresh water, they hatch, producing miracidia. The young find their intermediate host, a snail, where they grow into sporocysts. The sporocysts produce cercariae, which leave the snail to find a human host to begin the cycle again (Nunn: 1996, 69). As the ancient Egyptians were so closely linked with water, working in the water of irrigation canals, fishing and drawing water from the canals, it would be virtually impossible for the people to avoid the nearly invisible parasites (Nunn: 1996, 69).
This disease is found in mummies only in rare cases. There are two reasons for this rare detection. Firstly, most of the population of ancient Egypt that could afford mummification was of the upper class (Halioua: 2005, 116) who would not be around contaminated water that might have harbored the worms that are responsible for schistosomiasis (Nunn: 1996, 68). Secondly, the embalming process requires the removal of nearly all internal organs, including the intestines, which would be the most common place where the eggs would be found. An unembalmed mummy, Nakht, from the New Kingdom Nile Valley was found to contain the schistosoma eggs (Nunn: 1996, 69). Further identification of schistosomiasis in ancient times may be possible due to the fact that the kidneys often escaped detection by the embalmers and could hold evidence of this disease (Nunn: 1996, 54).
Schistosomiasis has a number of symptoms that the ancient Egyptians could have observed. A light rash may develop where the cercariae entered the body. After that, the individual may have fever, aching, coughing, or diarrhea. Further symptoms include an immune system reaction called a granulomatous reaction, which can cause the individual to appear to have a potbelly, swollen genitalia and blood in the urine (Mawyer: 2002). These visible symptoms have been depicted on tomb walls, such as the tombs of Ptahhotep and Ankhmahor in Saqqara. These paintings include fishermen with distended bellies and swollen genitalia (Halioua: 2005, 117). As little was known about the cause of these symptoms, the ancient physicians could only treat what was known to them. The ancients knew that one disease linked certain symptoms together, but they did not understand how or why. This disease they named aaa. The aaa disease is mentioned prominently through the Hearst medical papyrus, the Ebers medical papyrus, and the Berlin medical papyrus, with a number of remedies dealing with different symptoms that appear to be from schistosomiasis (Nunn: 1996, 63). The definition of aaa is under question as there is no direct translation from the hieroglyphs. The definitive hieroglyph is a discharging phallus, possibly alluding to the intestinal tract (Nunn: 1996, 63).
Treatments were usually simple and straightforward, treating the symptoms of schistosomiasis and the affected areas of the body. The simplest treatment was a preventative measure. Under the belief that the aaa disease was contracted through the male genitalia, men were advised to wear penile sheathes, as is seen in some mortuary artwork (Nunn: 1996, 69).
Other remedies are either herbal, which will be discussed now, or magical, which will be discussed later in this paper. The herbals deal with expelling “the aaa from the body and the heart” (Dollinger: 2000) or is “ useful as something prepared for the belly” (Nunn: 1996, 63). Most of these remedies feature dates, raisins and other fruits (Dollinger: 2000). These ingredients have laxative properties (Halioua: 2005, 33). Honey is also commonly used in most of these remedies, as it is a well-known antioxidant (Nunn: 1996, 148). Considering that some of the symptoms of schistosomiasis dealt with the genitals and the swelling of these organs, it is no wonder that a few of the treatments dealt with aphrodisiacs (Dollinger: 2000). The ancient Egyptians believed that the lettuce plant was an aphrodisiac (Seawright: 2005). Two treatments of schistosomiasis call for either lettuce leaves or lettuce seeds (Dollinger: 2000). Furthermore, one other treatment calls for lotus blossoms (Dollinger: 2000). The lotus was also thought to be an aphrodisiac as it was a symbol of fertility, both of the Nile and of humans (Seawright: 2005).
Also commonly mentioned in the papyri is the SAms plant (Dollinger: 2000). One must be cautious when defining these plants from ancient medical texts as a misidentification could lead to future confusion in the archaeological community (Thanheiser). An attempt at defining the SAms plant will be made using definitive hieroglyphs and modern agricultural dictionaries. The pronunciation of “SAms” is “Shames.” Taking the ancient Egyptian spelling and comparing it with a number of words found in Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs by James P. Allen, that appear to have close to the same spelling as SAms, a number of words were found that correspond to a certain type of barley and the harvest (Allen: 2000, 468, 469, 496). Further research in the Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics by Bircher and Bircher, confirmed the theory that SAms was a type of barley, specifically the Echinochloa colonum otherwise known by the common name of sham. This is a type of barley that is commonly found in Egypt (Bircher: 2001, 159).
While it is known that schistosomiasis existed in ancient times, it is not yet proven that it penetrated the Oases. It is reasonable to assume, however, that schistosomiasis also existed in the Oases due to the very similar climates. In addition to the similar climates, there was also the canals and waterways built to irrigate the Oases fields and crops, giving snails and Bilharzia worms an environment in which to thrive.
Like© 2009 – 2010, Page Strong. All rights reserved.
That's a Wrap!
Questions? E-mail the Scribe!
About The Author
Comments