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This report presents the latest data from ongoing excavations at Jebel Moya, Sudan. This year saw the opening of five new trenches and continued excavation of an archaeologically rich trench. We have recovered four individual burials, a mud brick wall and a number of animal and archaeobotanical remains. The excavations also yielded a longer pottery sequence, showing clearly that the site was in use by at least the sixth millennium BC. This season confirms the long and complex history of Jebel Moya and provides the material for future studies on population health and subsistence. This season also saw an increase in community engagement and a more detailed study of the various historical trajectories that make up the biography of Jebel Moya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A skeletal collection from 105 burials excavated at the Old Kingdom and Ptolemaic Period cemetery in Saqqara, Egypt, was investigated for evidence of ante-mortem fractures of long bones. The collection comprised 57 males, 30 females, 14 unsexed sub-adults, and 4 unsexed mature individuals. The majority of the skeletons were complete or almost complete, despite the disturbance caused by tomb looters in antiquity. Fractures were recorded by bone, side, location, type and state of healing. The prevalence of fractures was calculated in male and female populations, as well as in individual age groups. The state of healing of the fractures was examined in order to investigate the possibility of medical treatment provided. No evidence of fractures was recorded in sub-adults. Evidence of single fractures were found in fourteen adults, and a further five individuals sustained two fractures to different bones of the upper limb. The frequency of fractures by bone count was the highest among the Middle and Old Adults. Fractures to the radius (37.5%) and the ulna (33.3%) were the most common, while no fractures were recorded in the tibia. Angulation, rotation and shortening were observed among the healed bones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The skeletal remains of a young adult male (aged 25–35 years) recovered from an Old Kingdom cemetery at Saqqara, Egypt, displayed multiple skeletal abnormalities in the limbs and vertebral column. These included bilateral shortening and robusticity of the humeri with flared distal metaphyses and exaggerated muscle attachments, early-onset osteoarthritic changes in the glenohumeral joints, thoraco-lumbar scoliosis, deformities of the proximal tibiae characteristic of a genu varum condition, angulation and shortening of the fourth metacarpal and metatarsal typical of brachydactyly type E1, and possible mild short stature. The condition has been diagnosed as multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED). This case of MED is possibly only the second example to be reported in skeletal material from ancient Egypt. No other reports of MED in archaeological material are currently known. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]