The original purpose of this study was not to examine eating habits, but to examine mummies as proxies, or indirect indicators of climate, and thus to look at climate variations in Ancient Egypt. During the sampling process at the museum, we realized through conversations with the staff there that we could also gain insight into dietary habits.

With each sample taken from a mummy, we lose both a piece of history and part of the mummy forever.

Ancient Egyptians primarily consumed food grown around the Nile River. Using carbon isotopes we confirmed that the individuals studied consumed the same type of C₃ plants, although their environment tended to favor C₄ plants. C₃ and C₄ describe different pathways of photosynthesis, i.e. the metabolism of the plants. This is an important parameter for archaeologists studying agricultural practices. We were also able to narrow down the type of diet, such as the amount of animal protein consumed. The most important sources of protein were large mammals such as cows, goats and sheep, and only rarely fish and poultry.

Up to around 50 % of the Ancient Egyptians' diet consisted of animal protein - lower than the average 64 % characterizing modern omnivorous Europeans. This is of interest to Egyptologists who want to understand the dietary habits of these populations. Of course, we must keep in mind that the samples we examined were from individuals of the Egyptian upper class. This means that they may not reflect the lifestyles of the average population. These people would probably have eaten a lot more fish in everyday life, but we don't have samples to test this hypothesis.

I have been in an academic position for 18 years. Before that, I worked in industry for 15 years in research and development. I even built mass spectrometers myself for a while in Manchester.

Not really, no. But science yes. Trying to understand how the world around us works or sometimes doesn't work – that has always interested me. Geology, geochemistry, and paleontology came later.