3,000yo Egyptian cheese infected with deadly disease unearthed at ancient burial site

a reply to: dragonridr

While excavating Egypt’s famous pyramids, archaeologists have found pots of honey in an ancient tomb. The honey, dating back approximately 3,000 years, is the world’s oldest sample – and still perfectly edible.

NAT GEO

a reply to: Byrd

Got to say old chap, slightly miffed at you getting all those stars for basically spouting complete rubbish.



RT - Just as good as any other source
No - It's not a stone column - It's the base of the jar that was found
NO - It's not a wheel of cheese - It's the base of the jar that was found
YES - IT WAS Brucellosis - AS STATED IN THE RT ARTICLE - Ancient Egyptians may have dodged a potentially life-threatening bout of illness by not eating the cheese, after researchers found the specimen contained signs of a bacterium known to cause brucellosis, a deadly disease spread from animals to people via unpasteurised dairy.

a reply to: CaptainBeno

Must have been the other cheese that put him in the tomb.

Is it even cheese? Does cheese ever degrade into a different substance? o.O

If not, I bet that is the most expensive and delicious cheese on this planet...very decadent eating... potentially lethal... but hey! I've seen people ingest worse and for next to nothing.

originally posted by: CaptainBeno
a reply to: Byrd

Got to say old chap, slightly miffed at you getting all those stars for basically spouting complete rubbish.

She gave you the link to the paper. Did you not read it?

originally posted by: CaptainBenoRT - Just as good as any other source

That's simply not the case.

originally posted by: CaptainBenoNo - It's not a stone column - It's the base of the jar that was found

That's a pretty tall jar, and why are they showing a pic of the base? Isn't the cheese at the other end?

originally posted by: CaptainBenoYES - IT WAS Brucellosis - AS STATED IN THE RT ARTICLE - Ancient Egyptians may have dodged a potentially life-threatening bout of illness by not eating the cheese, after researchers found the specimen contained signs of a bacterium known to cause brucellosis, a deadly disease spread from animals to people via unpasteurised dairy.

From Byrd's linked paper:

Moreover, the presence of Brucella melitensis has been attested by specific peptide providing a reasonable direct biomolecular evidence of the presence of this infection in the Ramesside period for which only indirect paleopathological evidence has been so far provided

Perhaps you're unaware that a peptide is not a bacterium.
Perhaps you're unaware that you're responding to a true Anthropology academic.

Harte

a reply to: Harte

Funny when i first saw it i was thinking that looks like a stone column. The next thing i was trying to figure out was how you could possibly get petrified cheese. But what i see as the problem is the peptides if tested will tell them its a dairy product. But that could also be some weird recipe for mortar??

Either way a better picture is needed to see what we are dealing with.

originally posted by: dragonridr
a reply to: Harte

Funny when i first saw it i was thinking that looks like a stone column. The next thing i was trying to figure out was how you could possibly get petrified cheese. But what i see as the problem is the peptides if tested will tell them its a dairy product. But that could also be some weird recipe for mortar??

Either way a better picture is needed to see what we are dealing with.

The picture is unrelated to the article (another problem with RT). The top picture in this article supposedly shows it. - or at least the bag it came in. It also explains that the only jars there were in fragments.

The article that I just linked is a much better one (with the confusing exception of their including a photo of a Chinese mummy as they discuss ancient Chinese cheese.) It also makes more clear that what they analyzed were simply the proteins in the object, as the rest of it was sort of a mess.

originally posted by: CaptainBeno
a reply to: Byrd
RT - Just as good as any other source
No - It's not a stone column - It's the base of the jar that was found
NO - It's not a wheel of cheese - It's the base of the jar that was found
YES - IT WAS Brucellosis - AS STATED IN THE RT ARTICLE - Ancient Egyptians may have dodged a potentially life-threatening bout of illness by not eating the cheese, after researchers found the specimen contained signs of a bacterium known to cause brucellosis, a deadly disease spread from animals to people via unpasteurised dairy.

Check the better source that I linked:

RT - Not a very reliable source
Yes - that's a typical stone column as found in many temples. That site in the picture is a temple and not a tomb.
No - the cheese was found wrapped in fabric (a type of canvas) amid fragments of pottery jars... not inside a whole jar.
Yes - It had proteins that indicated brucellosis

Much better article about this find

I previously linked the paper, which was the original source.

a reply to: Fehrie

A product made from liquid buried in the desert for over three thousand years is going to change.

a reply to: CaptainBeno

So even a pharaoh cut the cheese.



Sorry, I'll try to be more Osiris.

a reply to: conspiracy nut

Extra sharp.

originally posted by: dragonridr
a reply to: Harte

Funny when i first saw it i was thinking that looks like a stone column. The next thing i was trying to figure out was how you could possibly get petrified cheese. But what i see as the problem is the peptides if tested will tell them its a dairy product. But that could also be some weird recipe for mortar??

Either way a better picture is needed to see what we are dealing with.

You are ignoring the third possibility. The Tomb of Ptahmes was an impressive discovery: the first tomb found that was actually built out of cheese.

a reply to: Byrd

I wouldn't say RT is as good a source as a respected scientific journal. For general news it's as good a source as CNN. It really depends on the topic for any source.

So who would have the kahunas to actually taste the ancient honey,even allowing for the fact that some VERY clever scientists told you it was completely safe to do so?

originally posted by: toms54
a reply to: Byrd

I wouldn't say RT is as good a source as a respected scientific journal. For general news it's as good a source as CNN. It really depends on the topic for any source.

So you don't care that they showed the bottom of a column in their "cheese" pic?

Harte

originally posted by: strongfp
a reply to: randomtangentsrme

I need a source on how from a million or so years from now honey will turn into crude oil?
I get that you are preaching honey can last for a long time, I understand that, and agree. But on this planet, everything dies, everything will break down and be used as energy eventually. To say it lasts forever is a bold statement, even if it doesn't turn into an energy rich source it will eventually break down or turn into stone, fossil, or sand or what ever.

Its almost like you are bored so you're just arguing to argue..... You have nothing else going on so you have to pick at people.... Knock it off and find something that fills the void

Infact it seems several people on this thread seem so unhappy w life they need to bicker over next to nothing and derail the thread.

My god we are unhappy as a society

originally posted by: Harte

originally posted by: toms54
a reply to: Byrd

I wouldn't say RT is as good a source as a respected scientific journal. For general news it's as good a source as CNN. It really depends on the topic for any source.

So you don't care that they showed the bottom of a column in their "cheese" pic?

Harte

I would have preferred to see an actual photo of the subject of the article. That said, it's not like I haven't seen this before in any number of popular articles. They don't have a suitable picture so they put up something they feel is representative. Or maybe some art.

The thing about this was the caption, "The 3,200-year-old cheese © University of Catania - University of Cairo / Reuters" To tell the truth, I don't know a column from cheese. I believed it. The only reason I believe you now is because I have seen you post about archeology so I believe you probably know the difference.

Anyway, the caption says "Reuters." Since the wire service is credited, I assume they got both the story and picture from them. Reuters may have got it from "University of Catania - University of Cairo." I don't know. Do you believe RT is lying?

It's not going to keep me awake tonight.

originally posted by: Imagewerx
So who would have the kahunas to actually taste the ancient honey,even allowing for the fact that some VERY clever scientists told you it was completely safe to do so?

I would.

Of course, I've also eaten crickets and mealworms.

originally posted by: toms54

Anyway, the caption says "Reuters." Since the wire service is credited, I assume they got both the story and picture from them.

That means the photo is from Reuters. The article is not a Reuters article.

a reply to: Harte

I took a quick look for other sources. There is an abstract with no pictures at pubs.acs.org... Others news sources seem to have the exact same picture. Here's the one from The Boston Globe:

Now that’s some aged cheese: Researchers say world’s oldest known solid cheese found in an Egyptian tomb

That caption says, "University of Catania and Cairo University via The New York Times" so the photo must be in The New York Times also. Starting to look like it's legit.