Most fans of modern medicine do not realize how similar in appearance was ancient medicine: While the Greeks left a vast legacy of medical texts in a familiar language, we know of only 12 from the time of the pharaohs – written on papyrus in a vanished language that scholars are still grappling with. From their descriptions of diseases and treatments, the texts have left little doubt that the ancient Egyptians had considerable medical skills, but weighing up their pharmaceutical knowledge has proved trickier: although the papyri include some 2000 prescriptions, doubts surround the identity of many of the ingredients listed. ….