Discovered 3,700 year old remains of women about to give birth in Egypt

Experts found some evidence that pregnant women in ancient Egypt died during childbirth.

A group of international archaeologists from Yale University, USA and Bologna University, Italy announced the discovery of a 3,700-year-old ancient tomb containing the remains of a pregnant woman believed to have died at birth. , Live Science reported on November 19. The tomb was excavated inside a graveyard of the Kom Ombo archaeological site in the city of Aswan, southern Egypt.

Pregnant mother's body in Egypt.(Photo: Live Science).

The team could not ascertain the cause of mother-to-child deaths because there were no soft tissue left to date. However, according to the Egyptian Antiquities Department, the fetal skeleton is found lying in the mother's pelvis head, a position commonly found in the third trimester of pregnancy. Besides, the woman's pelvis also showed signs of deviation and fractures, so she most likely died in childbirth.

"Detecting the remains of pregnant women at this stage is extremely rare," said Professor Sandra Wheeler of Central Florida University, USA. "This once again shows that births are always very precarious and the risk of maternal death is something that both ancient women and today face".

Experts estimate that the mother in ancient tombs in Egypt died at the age of 25. Her body was rolled inside a cloth wrapped before being buried. Inside the tomb, archaeologists also found many objects such as a ceramic vase, a red-colored outside pot and black inside and the beads were processed from ostrich eggshell. These funerals are said to honor the sacrifice of the mother and show the compassion of family and relatives.