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Archeologists Discover 3,300-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy With ‘Black Death’ DNA, May Have Spread by Fleas on Nile Rats

'Black Death' also known as the bubonic plague terrorized humans in the 14th Century, and wiped out millions of people.

PUBLISHED DEC 28, 2024

Mummy of a man with boots, leg guards, and breastplate (Representative Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Dada)

Researchers have finally managed to confirm a long-standing theory that the deadly 'Black Death' plague was prevalent in ancient Egypt. This pursuit has finally borne some fruits as experts have uncovered indications of the plague in a 3,300-year-old mummy, stated IFL Science. As per estimation, the mummy is the oldest confirmed case of the 'Black Plague' spotted outside Eurasia. According to examinations, the man whose mummy displayed the signs of plague died in a lot of pain due to the resultant disease.

Black death in a miniature from the 15th century (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by Unknown author) — Black Death in a miniature painting from the 15th century (Representative Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Unknown author)

'Black Death' also known as the bubonic plague terrorized humans in the 14th Century, and wiped out millions of people in its wake. Examination of prehistoric corpses indicated that the bacteria responsible for the plague had been in circulation many millennia before the 14th Century. To this date, specimens containing this infection have been spotted in Europe and Asia, indicating the presence of this disease in these regions. Examination of the 3,300-year-old Egyptian mummy proved that the disease had also reached Africa.

The mummy that was used for examination was under the custody of Museo Egizio, a museum in Turin. The mummy was observed to have Y. pestis DNA in both the bone tissue and intestines. Y.pestis has long been considered the primary cause behind the 'Black Death.'' "This is the first reported prehistoric Y. pestis genome outside Eurasia providing molecular evidence for the presence of plague in ancient Egypt, although we cannot infer how widespread the disease was during this time," the researchers stated.

Man and Woman Across Mummies (Representative Image Source: Pexels/Photo by Shvets Anna) — Man and Woman Across Mummies (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Shvets Anna)

Before this finding, several studies had indicated the breakout of this disease in ancient Egypt due to possible outbreaks along the banks of the ancient Nile. Two decades ago, a team of researchers found fleas in Amarna, a village where workers responsible for Tutankhamun’s tomb reportedly lived. The fleas raised eyebrows because they have been determined as the main carriers of Y.pestis. This made experts speculate that the 'Black Plague' may very well have been afflicting people in ancient Egypt. But such strong evidence like the mummy examined in Italy, had been missing to back the claim.

The claim did have some historical support though in the form of a 3,500-year-old document called the Ebers Papyrus that talks about a disease which "has produced a bubo, and the pus has petrified." Description that could be equated with the effects of the 'Black Death.' Researchers have theorized that fleas spread the disease throughout Egypt by accompanying Nile rats, after which they changed hosts to black rats and with them embarked on ships. On their voyage, they spread the horrid disease to the entire world.