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ound mcasures about ١050 cm. in dianncter a١ itsasc and abou١ 130 cn. in hcight
t its ccntcr.

he intcrnal architccturc consisls of a ccntrally located, rectangular burial
chamber constructed of limc-stonc blocks, he chamber dimensions are 146 cn. in
length, 67 cm. in width and 56 cm. in height. One alcove is located in the northern
corner of the chamber. hc burial chambcr is surrounded by a limestone ringwall.
le basic architecturc and the presence of capstones covcring the central burial
chamber indicates that this mound belongs to the tae ‫ﺍ‬ype variant (Frohlich
1986).

he burial chamber was filled with a finc sand duc to infiltration of sand from the
mound itself. he body was placed in a fleed position on its right side with its long
axis aligned in a northeastlsouthwest direction (Figure 2). he hands are arranged
in front of the faceand the lower extremities are tightly fleed in front of the chest.
he body was placed so that the skull faced toward the alcove in the northeastern
corner of the chamber: wo pots, both thought to date to the late third or early
second millennia B.C, (and thus not intrusive), were placed at the entrance of the
alcove and just adjacent to the pelvic bones along the northwestern chamber wall.
No animal bones or other burial gifts were found in the chamber.

he skeleton is virtually complete with minor post-mortem breakage and loss of
bones. he shape and size of the skeleton indicate that the individual was male and
probably fifty years of age or older. he pathological nature of the specimen was
apparent during excavation; the spine from the second cervical (neck) vertebrae
down had fused into a continuous arch of solid bone that was abnormally curved
forward and would have produced a stoop-shouldered appearance in life (Figure
3). here were abnormal bone projections, that were associated with tendon and
ligament attachments. extending from areas of the spine and other bones.

he bone tissue was very fragile and after initial conservation in the field it was
carefully cleaned and conserved in the laboratories at the Smithsonian Institution.
Careful study at that time revealed other pathological features in the spine and
other bones. Post-mortem breaks through the spine indicated that connective tissue
around the joints had ossified although the joint space, itself remained intact. In
both the forearm and lower leg, the two long bones (radius and ulna; tibia and
ifbula) are attached to each other by a ligament (the interosseous ligament). Bony
spurs had formed at the site of attachment of the ligament (Figure 4). Although the
pathological changes seen in the spine and lower portions of the extremities were
the most dramatic, bony spurs were found in association with muscle and ligament
attachments in most of the remaining bones as well.

here are several pathological conditions that can result in a fused spine. One of
these is ankylosing spondylitis an inflammatory, erosive joint disease that

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