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The author describes two case studies of Egyptian mummies exposed on the Museum with ethical implications.

Book of abstracts of the international conference Ägyptologische „Binsen“-Weisheiten IV.

Crossing the epistemological and methodological boundaries between traditional disciplines in Egyptology and beyond, the present project sets out to understand the life of a particular category of complex documents: the ‘heterogeneous’ papyri which bear several texts belonging to various genres (such as, for instance, accounts, poems, hymns and letters). They are of primary importance for the study of the wide competence and the performance of ancient scribes at work. In this project, we target the rich papyrological material that stems from the village of Deir el-Medina, which housed the families of the workmen who built the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the New Kingdom (c. 1350–1000 BCE). This highly literate community produced an unparalleled quantity of texts and inscriptions. Building on existing collaborations between the partners (the university of Basel, the university of Liège, and the Museo Egizio of Turin), the five main goals of our research project are (1) to document the fragments of heterogeneous papyri in the Turin collection; (2) to reconstruct the original documents digitally; (3) to study the variety of texts attested on each papyrus, to assess the numbers of scribes (hands), and ultimately to suggest individual scenarios and generalisations concerning the history of these documents; (4) to enrich the results with data coming from other ancient Egyptian archives from Deir el- Medina; and (5) to broaden the perspective by comparing, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the data from Deir el-Medina with complex scribal practices of other periods and places in ancient Egypt.

In the 2019 season, the joint Leiden-Turin Expedition to Saqqara continued work in the area north of the tomb of Maya with the aim of lowering the terrain above the new tomb discovered during the 2018 season (V82.1) and to prepare the area for further exploration in 2020. Many layers of deposit situated immediately to the north of the new tomb were removed and – although they mostly originated from previous excavations in the 1980s and 1990s – systematically investigated. Several dumps of organic material such as linen and wood as well as numerous small finds and relief fragments were identified and recorded. In addition, existing storage facilities on site were renovated and upgraded. In this process, part of the underground structures of the tombs of Horemheb and Meryneith were surveyed by the 3D Survey Group (Politecnico di Milano). Thanks to the cooperation with the same Milanese team, a new documentation method was tested during the ongoing excavation work. Within a 3D-model the different stages of excavation were recorded, allowing the digital reconstruction of the stratigraphy of the whole area and the documentation of all finds in their original contexts. A Digital Surface Model of the entire concession area was also produced, and 3D-models of some of the previously excavated monumental tombs were created. Lastly, since heavy rainfalls had damaged many of the earlier excavated monumental tombs open to the public, they were consolidated and where necessary rebuilt. ملخص في موسم 2019، واصلت البعثة ليدن-تورينو المشتركة عملها في سقارة في المنطقة شمال قبر مايا، بهدف إزالة الأتربة التي تراكمت فوق القبر الجديد الذي اكتُشِف خلال موسم 2018 (V82.1) وإعداد المنطقة لموسم التنقيب لعام 2020. تمت إزالة العديد من طبقات الأتربة التي تغطي المنطقة الشمالية من القبر الجديد، بالرغم من أن هذه الرواسب تراكمت في الغالب بموجب الحفريات السابقة في الثمانينيات والتسعينيات، فقد تمت دراستها بشكل منهجي. قامت البعثة بالتنقيب وبتسجيل العديد من المواد العضوية مثل الكتان والخشب و غيرها من الشظايا واكتشافات أخرى صغيرة. كما أنه تم الكشف وتسجيل مرافق التخزين الموجودة في الموقع. من خلال هذه العملية، قام فريق الباحثين من الفرع التقني لجامعة ميلانو بمسح جزء من الهياكل تحت الأرض لمقابر حورمحب و مرينيث باستخدام الماسح ثلاثي الأبعاد. بفضل تعاون هذا الفريق، تم أثناء أعمال التنقيب اختبار طريقة جديدة في التوثيق. استناداً على النموذج ثلاثي الأبعاد، تم تسجيل مراحل التنقيب المختلفة مما سمح بإعادة البناء الرقمي للمنطقة بأكملها وتوثيق جميع الاكتشافات في أماكنها الأصلية. تم تنفيذ نموذج رقمي لكامل سطح المنطقة بالإضافة إلى إنشاء نماذج ثلاثية الأبعاد لبعض المقابر الأثرية التي نُقّب عنها سابقاً. وأخيراً، بما أن الأمطار الغزيرة ألحقت الضرر بالعديد من المقابر الأثرية المكتشفة سابقاً والمفتوحة لزيارة الجمهور، فقد تم تدعيمها وإعادة بناء الأقسام الضرورية.

Objectives. This review addresses the comparative effects of skeletal anchored maxillary protraction (MP) versus dental anchored MP. Materials and Methods. The studies retrieved had to have both test and control groups treated by the use of a facemask with or without the use of skeletal anchorage though either (palatal/buccal) maxillary or mandibular miniscrews/miniplates, respectively. Results. Nine articles were included. Dentoalveolar changes were seen in all the studies. In particular, a significant proclination of the upper incisors was documented in the group treated with a dental anchorage facial mask, as compared to that treated with skeletal anchorage. Comparing the two methods, almost all the studies indicated a greater maxillary advancement in the group treated with skeletal anchorage. Conclusions. Therapies with skeletal anchorage produce greater maxillary protraction, reducing undesirable dental effects.

Purpose: A retrospective clinical study was performed to compare the post-operative sequelae of the submucosal administration of two different low dosages of dexamethasone, after the surgical extraction of lower third molars. Methods: Data regarding edema, trismus, pain and analgesic consumption were collected from 150 subjects, selecting three equal groups (n= 50): a control group with no administered dexamethasone (G1); submucosal injection of dexamethasone 2 mg/0.5 ml (G2) and submucosal injection of dexamethasone 4 mg/1 ml (G3). Collected data were evaluated at three different time points: T0 before surgery, T1 on the third day after surgery and T2 on the 7th day after surgery. Patients’ gender and age were also considered for statistical purposes. Results: The effects on facial swelling reduction were statistically significant in G2 at T1 in the male subgroup. With trismus, the differences between the time points considered were statistically significant in G2 in the subgroup of subjects younger than 25 years old. Differences in analgesics taken were statistically significant when G1 and G2 were compared at T1. (Am J Dent 2022;35:233-237).

Background: Neurological alterations are one of the main complications occurring after the third molar extractions. The aim of this prospective multicenter cohort study was to find out Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) features and distribution of neurological complications in patients undergoing lower third molar surgery and to determine the radiological and patient-related factors that could be correlated to the occurrence of inferior alveolar and lingual nerves injury. Material and Methods: 378 patients who underwent lower third molar extraction from March 2018 to March 2019 were included. Clinical and radiological data were collected. CBCT features were recorded following Maglione et al. classification. Symptoms and characteristics of patients who experienced neurological alterations were evaluated. Results: 193 patients needed a second-level radiological exam (CBCT). In these patients, the most common feature was Maglione class 3: a higher frequency of apical or buccal mandibular canals in direct contact with the tooth was observed. 3.17% of the patients developed a neurological complication. Maglione class 4, increased age, and operative time were all positively correlated with neurological alterations. Conclusions: while the buccal or apical position of the mandibular canal was the more common findings, the lingual position was found to have a higher correlation with a negative outcome. Age and operative time were also found to be risk factors for developing nerve injury in the considered population.

Known in Arabic as "Biban el-Harîm" ("the Doors of the Women") and called "Ta Set Neferu" ("the Place of Beauty") by ancient Egyptians, the Queens’ Valley is one of the most renowned necropolis of ancient Egypt. This necropolis hosted more than a hundred tombs prepared during the New Kingdom, which were intensively looted and re-used over time up to the Roman Period. After having been forgotten for centuries, the Queens’ Valley necropolis was rediscovered by G. B. Belzoni in 1816. From that moment on, several explorers visited and documented it, but the first scientific and in-depth investigation was carried out only in 1903 by the Italian Archaeological Mission (MAI), which was directed by E. Schiaparelli with the collaboration of F. Ballerini. Around seventy years later, a joined Franco-Egyptian mission began new investigations and cleared and documented dozens of tombs (the majority of which had already been discovered by the Italian team). The in-depth assessment of all the published results of the abovementioned explorations and excavation campaigns made it apparent that a number of issues concerning this burial ground were little explored or even still unexplored. This awareness gave start to the present PhD research, which focused on a multidirectional research approach: archival, archaeological and social. One of the most relevant research questions concerns the social identity of the New Kingdom tomb owners, with particular attention to the so far little explored 18th-dynasty period. By combining information from different sources (publications, unpublished archival documents and museum objects), the author aimed to reassess the identity of the individuals buried in the Queens’ Valley. This reassessment helped to highlight that the Queens’ Valley, during the 18th Dynasty, hosted the burials of a restricted circle of individuals, who were part of the royal court. The social analysis stimulated other research questions, among which those concerning the date of establishment of the necropolis, the aspect of the original necropolis landscape, and the place of performance of funerary and memorial cults on behalf of the deceased. With regard to the date of establishment of the necropolis, the archaeological record and little textual evidence suggest the reign of King Thutmosis I as a very likely option. This date may find confirmation in the presence of the funerary and memorial temple of this king close to Medinet Habu (therefore, not far from the Queens’ Valley) as well as in the proximity of Deir el-Medina, the settlement of the tomb workmen founded under the reign of the same Thutmosis I. Another relevant issue connected with the social analysis concerned the necropolis landscape. The landscape of a necropolis represents the physical environment within which concepts and ideas of divinity and netherworld are projected. Interestingly, the Queens’ Valley is the first necropolis set in a concealed space. Making recourse to the Landscape Archaeology discipline, three aspects of the Queens’ Valley landscape (constructed, conceptualized and ideational) were analyzed. This helped to better understand the meaning and the function of such a concealed burial spot in the New Kingdom Period, which was possibly seen by ancient Egyptians as a place of transition between the world of the living and that of the dead, as a gateway into the afterlife. Additionally it was also highlighted that such specific hidden funerary landscape devoid of monumental (super)structures mirrors a specific social background, which includes people close to the king. In regard to the absence of tomb chapels, it was investigated the issue concerning the place where the funerary and memorial cults on behalf of the Queens’ Valley tomb owners were performed during the New Kingdom, suggesting several possible scenarios. Another relevant part of this doctoral research concerned the examination of the unpublished excavation documents, which allowed the author to re-write the history of the Italian excavations in this necropolis at the very beginning of the 20th Century. Innovative results were achieved by combining the examination of published works, of the archaeological evidence, and of the unpublished archival materials. For instance, by cross-referencing the archival materials with letters sent in 1903 by F. Ballerini to his family, a detailed chronological reconstruction of the results of the first archaeological mission was suggested. Moreover, it was possible to identify most of the tombs discovered by the Missione Archeologica Italiana: at least 70 tombs were investigated in the years 1903 and 1904 by Italian team, 57 of which were new tombs. The archival research gave the chance to attempt another interesting experiment: the re-contextualization of the objects found by the Italian team, which are currently housed at the Museo Egizio of Turin. This “re-excavation” of the Queens’ Valley through the analysis of findings allowed a number of relevant results: for instance, a fragmented canopic jar made it possible to identify a so far unknown royal consort named Satefmira, who was buried within the Queens’ Valley (supposedly in tomb QV 58). Moreover, the analysis of the unpublished documents concerning the excavations of tomb QV 39 confirms that it is possible to work on such re-contextualization of objects with relevant results: a lotus-shaped pendant (currently assigned to the burial equipment from QV 46) and a roughly-made coffin containing a mummy and other few grave goods (said to have been found in an unspecified cavity within the necropolis) can be re-located with certainty in tomb QV 39. To conclude, through multi-directional research approaches and re-assessing little explored issues, investigating so far unexplored topics, and analyzing unpublished documents and museum objects, an up-to-date and innovative overview of the Queens’ Valley was elaborated.

Objectives. This review addresses the comparative effects of skeletal anchored maxillary protraction (MP) versus dental anchored MP. Materials and Methods. The studies retrieved had to have both test and control groups treated by the use of a facemask with or without the use of skeletal anchorage though either (palatal/buccal) maxillary or mandibular miniscrews/miniplates, respectively. Results. Nine articles were included. Dentoalveolar changes were seen in all the studies. In particular, a significant proclination of the upper incisors was documented in the group treated with a dental anchorage facial mask, as compared to that treated with skeletal anchorage. Comparing the two methods, almost all the studies indicated a greater maxillary advancement in the group treated with skeletal anchorage. Conclusions. Therapies with skeletal anchorage produce greater maxillary protraction, reducing undesirable dental effects.

Background: Severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, with consequent encephalopathy, remains a common cause of morbidity and death in many regions of the world. Poor access to clinical laboratory resources and screening programs to measure plasma bilirubin levels is a major contributor to delayed treatment in developing countries, and the cost of existing point-of-care screening instruments precludes their dissemination. Objectives: We are evaluating the accuracy of a low-cost, minimally invasive point-of-care system (Bilistick) requiring a 25-µl blood sample that could be used in low-resource environments to evaluate patients with neonatal jaundice. Methods: We compared plasma bilirubin levels in divided blood samples by clinical laboratories and by Bilistick at two medical centers serving term and near-term newborns from ethnically different populations. Results: 118 neonates with bilirubin levels ranging from 24.8 to 501.0 µmol/l were analyzed. The mean bilirubin concentration (±SD) was 215.6 ± 85.5 µmol/l for Bilistick and 226.1 ± 86.4 µmol/l by laboratory determination. Pearson’s correlation coefficient between all paired results was 0.961, and the Bland-Altman analysis showed a mean difference of 10.3 µmol/l with a 95% interval of agreement of –38.0 to 58.7 µmol/l. Conclusion: Bilistick is a minimally invasive method for measuring total bilirubin concentration over a wide range of values and should provide an affordable and accurate system for pre-discharge and follow-up screening of jaundiced infants, particularly in low-resource environments.