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Objective To analyze the bone lesions of the ear region from a late Bronze Age individual to establish the most probable diagnosis. Background There has been evidence of diseases of the ear region since way back in history, but few human remains have been recognized. The case presented here corresponds to an ear lesion from a prehistoric skeleton found in the archeological site of La Cova des Pas (900-800 cal yr BC), located on Minorca island, in the western Mediterranean. Methods Macroscopic and radiologic (iCT) analysis had been performed. Results The remains belong to an elderly female subject who had a large cavity on the tympanic cavity as a result of the complete erosion of the outer wall of the attic and a large increase in the diameter of the outer ear canal. The cavity extends posterior to the mastoid. Conclusion The diagnosis suggests a probable cholesteatoma, being one of the oldest cases in Europe.

The laboratory results from the mummy of a 25–35-year-old dult male (“Moses”/Q.445-2012) dating from the Middle Copic period (AD 4th to 8th century) are reported. This individual as recovered from the Coptic necropolis of Qarara in Middle gypt during the joint excavation performed by the Eberhard Karls niversitat, Tubingen (Germany) and the Egyptian Museum of arcelona in March 2012. Specimens obtained during the in situ autopsy were transerred to the mission laboratory (Sharuna/Middle Egypt) where tissue from the right hemothorax was processed with rehydration (modified Sandison method), fixation (48 h) and staining (hematoxylin–eosin). The histological slices revealed pulmonary tissue with solid deposits compatible with anthracosis (Fig. 1). Anthracosis is observed in mummies from all historical periods and geographical regions. The oldest Egyptian mummy with this histological diagnosis was described in 1938.1 The case of the Roman child mummy of Grotta-Rossa is interesting, and there are also Guanche