Fossilized human blood cells from a Hellenistic settlement

The su of human soft tissue over long periods of time after death by mummification is common knowledge. Egyptian and pre-Columbian mummies from America are the best-known examples of this process. The survival of human blood cells, the most fragile of all soft tissue, over a period of about 2200 years by a process of fossilization is a phenomenon which had not been observed previously. Fossilized blood cells were found during the paleopathological examination of skeletons of soldiers buried near a Hellenistic fortress. The fortress had been built on an island in the Arab-Persian Gulf subsequent to the oriental expeditions of Alexander the Great.