If not for the keen eye of a digger working on an ancient catacomb in Egypt, archaeologists might never have found it: a single tooth nestled in the crease of a eroded pelvis. Caretaker and archaeologist Melinda King Wetzel at first thought she was looking at a fruit from the time of the Egyptian pharaohs. But when he showed the tomb to Bioarchaeology Director Gretchen Dabbs, it turned out the discovery was even rarer.

Another site leader, Anna Stevens, along with Wetzel and Dabbs, say they have found the earliest evidence of a mature ovarian teratoma, or germ cell tumor. Today, this mass appears as a calcified pile of irregular and fully formed tissues such as bones and teeth. It measures approximately 3 by 2 centimeters (0.8 by 1.2 in) and dates to the mid-14th century BC.

The researchers say this adds “significant temporal and geographic depth to our understanding of this situation in the past.”

Wetzel, Dabbs and Stevens, who work for different companies and universities, have been working together for years at this archaeological site on the east bank of the Nile as part of the Amarna Project. This is an ongoing, long-term excavation aimed at uncovering the burial grounds of ordinary people buried near what was once Pharaoh Akhenaten’s capital, founded in 1345 BC.

The skeleton of a young woman with an ovarian tumor was found in a multi-chambered tomb at the Northern Desert Cemetery in Amarna, and she is believed to have been between 18 and 21 years old when she died. He was buried with his hands over his pelvis and wrapped as in other non-elite Amarna cemeteries. However, he had more jewelry than other bodies nearby.

But a different kind of jewel lay in the ring on his pelvis.

Teratomas are rare types of germ cell tumors that are usually benign, but they can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain or infertility. They are very rare in archaeology. In fact, this is the fifth case discovered by archaeologists and the only one in Egypt. The tumor is several centuries older than other ancient teratomas previously discovered by archaeologists in Spain, France, Peru and Portugal.

When Wetzel saw the tooth at first, he thought it was a tooth. But upon closer inspection, he and his colleagues noticed another empty space in the calcified mass. Further excavation around the female skeleton revealed a second tooth near the top of the leg bone, still inside the pelvic cavity. Its precise fit into the empty hole led archaeologists to conclude that this second tooth had previously been part of the tumor but had separated during decay.

According to the authors, both teeth were completely covered with enamel coatings, “albeit somewhat crooked.” They also exhibit partially formed root structures at their cemento-enamel base. It is too advanced for an early stage fetus and strongly suggests that the mass is a tumor and not an unborn child.

“Without careful excavation and in situ recording of the teratoma, the isolated tooth is likely to be identified, at least initially, as an intrusive element, or perhaps evidence, of another individual,” the team of archaeologists wrote. “If the tooth cannot be connected to other people buried in the same grave, it has been decided to make an additional burial in the grave.”

Researchers say that this person had a gold ring on his left hand next to the tumor. It is depicted with the image of Bes, an ancient Egyptian god associated with fertility and protection.

Although this is just a hypothesis, the authors say it is possible to suggest that this position of the ring was intentional and that the Besa ring may have been used to eliminate pain in that part of the body or to eliminate “anticipated problems such as infertility.” Source