ABSTRACT
Vitamin D deficiency is considered to be the most common nutritional deficiency andalso one of the most common undiagnosed medical conditions in the world. Vitamin D is naturallypresent only in minor amounts in most foods; the great majority is synthesized by the action ofultraviolet light on chemical precursors in the skin.The manifestation of vitamin D deficiency in sub adults is referred to as rickets, and in adults,osteomalacia . Rickets and osteomalacia are the sub adult and adult expressions of a disease in whichthe underlying problem is a failure to mineralize bone protein [osteoid]. The most common cause ofthis disease is a physiological deficiency in vitamin D. The associated problems include deformedbones. This study aimed to investigate the skeletal remains of ancient Egyptiansfrom Baharia Oasis population for lesions indicative of vitamin D deficiency [rickets andosteomalacia]. The material consisted of 1075 commingled bones [38 sub adults and 1037 adults]. They were recovered from Baharia oasis. The results showed that, there was no evidence of rickets in sub adult group. The prevalenceof osteomalacia in adult Baharia populations was 7.4% ; all were adult males.This result could indicate that this population was subjected to sunlight all over the year and their dietwas rich of calcium and phosphorus. These few cases that were found may be due to mechanical stress during wine andtextile production