(Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)) -- London (dpa) - The artery-clogging food and drink habitually consumed by the kings and queens of ancient Egypt would be classified as "junk food" by contemporary standards and certainly guaranteed an early death rather than immortality, British scientists have found.

Bountiful banquets offered to the gods and eaten by Egyptian priests and their families were laden with saturated fat and bursting with calories - from the highly-popular goose to fortified bread, eggs and rich milk.

Researchers at Manchester University in northern Britain have found that hieroglyphic inscriptions on temple walls and the priests' mummified remains bear the unmistakable signs of damaged arteries and heart disease.

Their findings, published in the medical magazine The Lancet Friday, said salt intake was also high and alcohol consumption would have exceeded modern recommendations.

Sumptuous meals of beef, wild fowl, bread, fruit, vegetables, cake, wine and beer were offered to the gods at the temple up to the three times a day, and often the priests would take the leftovers home to their families.

"There couldn't be a more evocative message: live like a god and you will pay with your health," said Professor Rosalie David, who led the study.

The findings also showed that blocked arteries caused by rich diets are not just a modern malaise, she said.

The findings are based on a new translation of hieroglyphs in Egyptian temples to reveal the offerings menu, much of which was rich in saturated fat and would be classified as "junk food" now.

Goose, which was commonly consumed, provided 63 per cent of its energy from fat, of which 20 per cent was saturated, said the study.

In addition, the priests ate a type of bread fortified with fat, milk and eggs, while cakes were typically made with animal fat or oil.

Salt intake was also likely to have been high, since it was often used as a preservative.

Mummified remains of the priests showed high levels of calcified hardened deposits on the walls of arteries - clear signs of atherosclerosis, the narrowing of diseased blood vessels.

"There is unequivocal evidence to show that atherosclerosis is a disease of ancient times, induced by diet, and that the epidemic of atherosclerosis which began in the 20th century is nothing more than history revisiting us," said co-author Professor Tony Heagerty, a heart expert.

The Manchester team looked at computed tomography (CT) X-ray scans of 22 mummies of high social status Egyptians. In 16 of these where hearts or arteries could be identified, nine mummies showed evidence of calcification.

The state of the priests' arteries and hearts may explain why even the ancient Egyptian elite had low life expectancies of 40 to 50 years, the study said.

It pointed out that the rich fare was markedly different from the frugal, mostly vegetarian diet of ordinary Egyptians.

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