ARCHAEOLOGY For years, doctors have regarded coronary artery disease as a modern disorder, caused by the combination of a stressful, sedentary lifestyle and a diet of too much processed food. But new research indicates that hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, was common 3,500 years ago among ancient Egyptians. American and Egyptian researchers imaged 20 mummies from the collection of the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo using a CT scanner. They were surprised to find that nine of the 16 mummies that clearly had intact hearts or arteries had calcification of the arteries.