Burials of 400 ‘poor’ people unearthed near Giza
By ANISaturday, November 27, 2010
CAIRO - Archaeologists have excavated burials of 400 people-dating between 2,700 and 2,000 years ago-on the Giza plateau in Egypt.
Research has shown that these individuals were malnourished and lacked grave goods, reports Archaeologydailynews.com.
The burials were found beside a 200-meter long ancient wall called the ‘Wall of the Crow,’ that was first constructed in the time of the pyramids.
“These graves are generally poor, with little or no grave goods, and belong to people on the lower end of the socio-economic scale,” wrote archaeologist Jessica Kaiser.
“There is a high incidence of haematological disorders present in the [bone] material, suggesting a sub-standard diet for this population,” she said.
Moreover, the men appear to be in worse shape than the women.
“Traumatic injuries (fractures and dislocations) are almost exclusively occurring in the males, suggesting a definite difference in lifestyle between the sexes,” wrote Kaiser.
The discovery has been made by researchers with AERA (Ancient Egypt Research Associates), a group led by Mark Lehner that conducts work at Giza. (ANI)