[Up to allergy specialists' consideration: did Pharaoh Menes die of a wasp sting?].
Several allergologists interested in allergies to wasp venom, pass a seemingly probable information that the first Egyptian pharaoh, Menes, was allergic to the venom of stinging insects, and died of an insect sting while on a long journey, somewhere in the area of present-day Great Britain. A relief decorating the pharaoh's sarcophagus and the tomb's walls is to prove the historicity of this event. The whole story is a typical hoax. Insufficient historical sources do not confirm the thesis that Menes visited Europe. The tomb which is considered to be his burial site, contained no sarcophagus, reliefs or paintings. The above-mentioned relief is a contemporary illustration which should raise suspicions even of a layman who looked at it carefully. It is interesting why so many respectable scientists believe the hoax and quote it without previous verification.
Kruszewski
Jerzy
J
Wojskowy Instytut Medyczny, Klinika Chorób Infekcyjnych i Alergologii CSK MON w Warszawie.
D000818:Animals; D000076144:Egypt, Ancient; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D006927:Hymenoptera / Q000276:immunology*; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000266:history*; D008297:Male