The Exodus Quest by Will Adams Page A

than for men, largely because of the dangers of pregnancy.
    ‘And Akhenaten is often criticized for letting his empire fall apart while he lazed around worshipping the Aten. Marfan’s causes extreme fatigue. Maybe that’s why he’s never portrayed doing anything energetic, except riding his chariot. And it would explain his love of the sun too. Marfan’s sufferers really feel the cold, you know. And their eyesight is afflicted, so that they need good light to see anything.’
    ‘Quite a risk, isn’t it? Basing your whole thesis on such a speculation.’
    ‘You academics!’ snorted Stafford. ‘Always so frightened of being proved wrong. You’ve lost your nerve; you hedge everything. But I’m not wrong. My theory explains Akhenaten perfectly. Can you offer another theory that even comes close?’
    ‘How about the opium-den theory?’
    Stafford slid her a glance. ‘I beg your pardon?’
    Gaille nodded. ‘You know they’ve got the mummy of Akhenaten’s father, Amenhotep III, in the vaults of the Cairo Museum?’
    ‘So?’
    ‘It’s been examined by palaeopathologists. His teeth were in a wretched state, apparently.’ She glanced around at Lily. ‘They used to grind up their grain with stone,’ she said. ‘Little bits of grit were always getting in the mix. Like eating sandpaper. All Egyptians of a certain age had worn-down teeth, but Amenhotep particularly so. He must have been constantly plagued by abscesses. Have you ever had a tooth abscess?’
    Lily winced sympathetically, touched a hand to her cheek. ‘Once,’ she said.
    ‘Then you’ll know just how much pain he’d have been in. No antibiotics, of course. You just had to wait it out. He’d almost certainly have drunk to numb the pain. Wine, mostly, though the Egyptians loved their beer. But there’s another possibility. According to something called the Ebers Papyrus, opium was well known to Eighteenth Dynasty medics. They imported it from Cyprus, made it into a paste and spread it as an analgesic over the sore area: the gums in Amenhotep’s case. Is it really too much of a stretch to imagine doctors prescribing opium for Akhenaten too, particularly if he was suffering from some disease, as you claim?’
    They reached the outside of Fatima’s compound. The gates were closed, so Gaille gave a short squirt of horn. ‘Maybe he got the taste for it. Opium was certainly used at Amarna. We’ve found poppy-shaped juglets there, with traces of opiates inside. The Minoans used opium to induce religious ecstasy and inspire their art. Isn’t it possible that Akhenaten and his courtiers did the same? I mean, there’s something rather hallucinogenic about the whole Amarna period, isn’t there? The art, the court, the religion, the hapless foreign policy?’
    Lily laughed. ‘You’re saying Akhenaten was a junkie?’
    ‘I’m saying it’s a theory that explains the Amarna era. One of several. As to whether it’s right or not …’
    ‘I’ve never heard it before,’ said Stafford. ‘Has anyone published on it?’
    ‘A couple of articles in the journals,’ said Gaille, as the front gates finally swung open. ‘But nothing major.’
    ‘Interesting,’ murmured Stafford. ‘Most interesting.’
    II
    ‘They’ve found something,’ said Knox, as he drove away from the Texas Society site. ‘They’re hiding it from us.’
    ‘What makes you think that?’ frowned Omar.
    ‘Didn’t you notice how their hair was matted with cobwebs and dust? You only get that when you’ve found something underground.’
    ‘Oh,’ said Omar gloomily. ‘But they’re archaeologists. They wouldn’t have been awarded the concession if they couldn’t be trusted.’
    Knox gave an eloquent snort. ‘Sure! Because no one ever took baksheesh in this country. Besides, didn’t you see the way that preacher glared at me?’
    ‘It was like he knew you from somewhere,’ nodded Omar. ‘Have you met him before?’
    ‘Not that I can remember. But I recognize that look.