Ancient patients

British scientists are involved in a project that aims to uncover the secrets of medicines used by the ancient Egyptians 5,000 years ago.

A University of Manchester, UK team is travelling to Sinai, Egypt, to learn more about how the Egyptians formed their ideas on medicines.

They will compare modern plant species in the region with those used by tribes, such as the Bedouin, and plant remains found in ancient tombs, in a project being carried out by the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology.

A researcher on the project said: 'The ancient Egyptians' medicine was remarkably advanced for its time. A lot of things they used we still use today.

They certainly had some quite advanced herbal medicines and probably knew about cannabis as well for pain relief.'

The Egyptians used natural remedies, such as chewing willow bark - which contains properties similar to aspirin - and honey on open wounds to kill bacteria. By comparing the prescriptions in the medical papyri to the medicinal plant use of the indigenous Bedouin people the team hopes to de-termine the origins of Pharaonic medicine.

And what if the team were to discover any long-lost pharmaceutical secrets? Mum's the word, surely.