That's a great septal aperture! They can be huge sometimes. That could be a little piece of bone (maybe knocked off postmortem?) but it seems really oddly shaped for that area - you can see that the surrounding bone is quite smooth except for possibly a little bit of the superior edge of the aperture.

Septal aperture. Look at the whole olecranion and at the articular surface.

No signs of fracture.

Yes, this is an apertura. This is a common anatomic variant in human distal humeri. I sent you two samples from human skeleton, what I have analysed.

Here is the second.

Hello Catherine,

It's a septal aperture. European (6%- rare); mongoloid (13%) more common and (15 à 20%) for negroid. More frequent on the right side that on the left one and in females that in males. More frequent in ancient populations (prehistoric and protohistoric periods). Very frequent in Anthropoids. In human subjects seems to be linked with the possibility of flexion-extension elbow movments and the relative lenght of forearm vs arm.

Best regards. PhiL.

P.S. Thanks a lot for your note about "the nail"! Osteosynthesis materiel will arrive "a little bit" later!

Hi Catherine ,

The olecranic hole is an epigenetic trait (you can see Finnegan and ......1977) also according me this trait is an epigenetic variation.

I am sorry I add wich this trait is not probably influenced by Ethnies, or chronological period but more probably by the occupational activities in your expression but not in its presence.

I've heard all the explanations for septal aperture, but I can't fully support any. I don't know that they're activity-related either; today I saw bilateral septal apertures on a subadult (~8 yrs), and subadults really don't get anything activity-based.

Hi Catherine

it`s definitly a septal aperture, an anatomical (epigenetic) variant.

Best regards

Kurt

Dear Colleagues,

I only gave some mean (I dare insist mean!) statistics and observations from large studies!

Particular observations out of normal standards are our "daily works"; is that a reason to establish rules?

Best regards and happy to discuss. PhiL.

No (to the question within your question), I don't think so. The roundish object behind the septal aperture does not really look like bone to me, although I am relying on zooming in on an x-ray posted on the internet. I'm assuming you have some restrictions on moving the mummy around, since you took this image in the coffin. Is there a way you can take a shot from a lateral angle?

Thanks everyone for your answers and advice. I know it is a septal aperture i have seen them before in skeletons. I sadly cannot get another angle of this mummy I was only given the x rays on disc by the museum, these individuals were x rayed in 1968. Technology has advanced so much since then with CT and higher quality x rays but the museum does not have the funding to perform more x rays or CT's

Sadly Catherine that the museum does not support mummy research. If these mummies are Egyptian, return them home..we'll take good care of them! :)

We are taking good care of the :) our government supports are museums but currently at the moment our museums are not getting the funding for research (government cut-backs). Liverpool researchers haven't really looked at these mummies in detail for one reason or another. I'm the first in around 50 years that has looked at some of these mummies and have studied them. If I had the funding I would do an entire report of them x ray and CT scan all of them again to see if there is anything interesting. maybe one day :)

It is normaly found in some population and not a fracture

that's a non-metric trait, septal aperture, that is common in archaeological remains. 

Non-metric variation without any doubts ! Here you can find those I've seen an a skeletonized mummy from Egypt. (I can demand an authorization to the Museum for you : if you need an utilisable photo for comparison let me know it)

On the topic of epigenetic characters of the upper limb see J-L Voisin 2011 (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13219-011-0050-2#page-1)

I wish you continued success in your researches

J.

Hi Jennifer 

Thank you for your comment, I hope to go back further study these mummies. Some if these will be more difficult than others as they as still wrapped hence why my research has as a mix of wrapped (x rayed) and non-wrapped (photographed) images. I know there is a lot more research left to do on these individuals, hopefully be able one day to re x ray them to see what is going on with them in better detail.

Thank you!

What research are you doing?

Hi Catherine,

I hope what you will have the opportunity to pursue your research as you want. I am mainly working on post-depositional manipulations and secondary deposits but mummification processes interest me too through traceological approach.

I will be happy to talk more widely about our respective researches in private if you want ! ([email protected] )

All the Best,

Jennifer

Dear Catherine,

    I just discovered your question right now. I hope my answer is not to late. Anyway, my answer might help someone. Septal aperture is very variable both in form (more or less oval) and in size. On your X-graph, the hole is very circular and too regular for a fracture. Moreover, a fracture will leave crack on the bone around the main fracture and I have seen any.

      Anyway, to be sure, image coming from computed tomography is necessary. 

All the best

Jean-Luc

Hi there,

Although I am no longer researching these x rays, I do enjoy discussing these images.

These X rays were taken over 50 years ago and I am sadly no longer working further on these mummies. It is a shame as there are so many unanswered questions, like images such as these. The common theme in this thread appears to be a non metric trait, but there is always the possibility that the circular entity could be an artefact/amulet (a common item found in the mummy's wrappings). 

There is a desperate need for further research on these mummies, sadly the Egyptology department at my university appears to be leaning towards ancient Egyptian literature and artefacts as the main focus of research. These mummies are deteriorating in stores of the museum warehouse.

I would love to see them re x rayed and find out more about them.

Thank you for advice about computed tomography.