The bones were excavated from Alit-Yam, an ancient Neolithic village near Haifa, which has been submerged in the Mediterranean for thousands of years. . .

Others have found remains that hint at TB dating from about 500,000 years ago.

However, there is no firm proof that the tell tale signs seen in the skeleton of a young man believed to belong to the first human species to migrate out of Africa - Homo erectus - were in fact caused by TB. Some experts doubt it.

The Israel bones, discovered by Dr Helen Donoghue and Dr Mark Spigelman, prove the disease is at least 3,000 years older than previously confirmed in other remains found in Italy. The watery grave provided the ideal environment to preserve the skeleton and its DNA.

Bonhams made a last-minute withdrawal of 10 lots worth a total of 250,000 euros following an official request by the Italian Embassy in London that no lost Italian treasures go on sale from the former collection of British antiquarian Robin Symes. . .

The move by Bonhams to withdraw the lots came a week after former Italian culture minister Francesco Rutelli sounded the alarm about the auction and hit out at his successor, Sandro Bondi, for ''not taking sufficient action'' to safeguard the artefacts. Rutelli revealed that he had begun secret negotiations in May 2007 to return hundreds of Italian works in the massive collection, but said negotiations had recently ground to a halt.