Skulls Reopen an Ancient Mystery Surrounding the Death of Egypt's Early Kings

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The departure of the king in ancient Egypt was likely not the end of his life alone; it may have also brought an end to the lives of some who served him.

A study of skulls of individuals buried near royal funerary tombs in Abydos has brought this possibility back to the forefront. Injuries were revealed that support the hypothesis that some members of the entourage were killed to accompany their rulers in the afterlife.

The results provide new evidence for a debate that has lasted more than a century regarding the sacrifice of servants upon the death of early Egyptian kings. However, it does not conclude that all those buried around their rulers faced the same fate, nor does it solely reveal the circumstances of their deaths.

In detail, Dr. Rosalind Campbell, a researcher at Purdue University, re-examined 46 preserved skulls at the University of Cambridge, extracted from graves surrounding the funerary structures of kings Ger and Jet and queen Meret-Neith. She noted that 18 of them had injuries that occurred close to the time of death, which may have been fatal.

These tombs date back to the First Dynasty, about five thousand years ago, and are associated with the royal funerary scene in the "Um al-Qa'ab" area of Abydos. It is believed that their owners were connected to the court, including ladies, seal bearers, inspectors, and artisans.

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While King Aha was associated with a limited number of affiliated tombs, hundreds of graves surrounded the tombs of some of his successors and their funerary structures, raising a question that remained unanswered: How did these individuals meet their end?

Then, when the English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie excavated these tombs in the 1920s, he suggested that their owners were offered as human sacrifices.

However, he did not record evidence of violent injuries, so he raised the possibility that they were buried alive, while others suggested that they died naturally and were reburied upon the ruler's death.

The recent examination revealed fractures and injuries, including a cut wound in the eye area. Campbell suggests that Petri may have noticed some fractures, but considered them to be damage to the bones post-mortem, and did not identify signs of their occurrence close to the time of death.

The researcher speculated that the injuries may have resulted from blows with flat and wide objects made of wood or animal horns, rather than the likelihood of using the known war mace in ancient Egyptian art.

Campbell also emphasized that the sample is small and does not necessarily represent all the buried individuals. Additionally, the absence of injuries on some skulls does not allow for determining the cause of death of their owners or confirming that they were offered as sacrifices.

Salima Ikram, a professor at the American University in Cairo, considered the importance of the study to lie in the use of modern and rigorous methodologies to examine an old hypothesis. She pointed out the short lifespan of this practice and the replacement of humans with small statues.

Some members of the entourage may have seen accompanying the king as a promise of eternal service, while others faced their fate with fear or resistance. Egyptologist Dawn McCormack confirmed that the possibility of their sacrifice does not imply their voluntary acceptance; the bones bear signs of violence, but do not preserve the voices of their owners.