The exotic ingredients of ancient embalmers: Chemical analysis of containers found at an embalming workshop in Saqqara has for the first time revealed some of the ingredients that went into the ancient Egyptian mummification process. Published in the journal Nature, the Egyptian-German study based at the National Research Centre in Giza found that most of the ingredients used for embalming came from outside Egypt, while some came from as far away as Southeast Asia. “This points to the fact that these resins were traded over very large distances and that Egyptian mummification was somehow a driver towards early globalization and global trade,” the study’s lead author told Reuters. The news is everywhere in the foreign press this morning: WSJ | WaPo | ABC News.

Also making headlines:

  • Five content creators were arrested after a comic video they made about a visit to a local jail went viral. (Reuters)
  • Deadly fire in a Cairo hospital: At least three people were killed and 32 injured after a fire broke at a charity-run hospital in Cairo. (AP)
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