The lives of princes in ancient Egypt are often described as luxurious and sheltered, surrounded by servants in spacious palaces. A new look at the burial chambers of some ancient Egyptian princes reveals that they also engaged in skilled physical activity and knew how to use weapons.
A team of researchers examined six royal female mummies from the Middle Kingdom, some of which were buried with objects such as bows and arrows – items traditionally associated with men. Scholars have long debated whether the weapons found in the tombs of ancient Egyptian princes were ceremonial or functional. So did the princes use the weapons they buried?
The researchers analyzed their bones and found that the princes showed high physical activity using the weapons buried at their sides. The findings are detailed in a to learn Published today in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.
Not your average princess
Mummies were first It was found in the Dahshur pyramid complex in the southwest of Cairo in the 1890s. They were later rediscovered in 2020 after years of disappearance during a curation project for an Egyptian museum.
Four of the six women were sisters: Princess Ita, Princess Khenmet, Princess Itaweret, and an anonymous woman temporarily known as Princess Sathathormeryt; all were daughters of pharaoh Amenemhat II.
The four princes were buried in suitable underground chambers containing objects such as bows and arrows. A particularly striking dagger was buried alongside Princess Ita. Two other mummies belonged to Prince Noub-Hotep and King Hor, who were also buried with similar objects.
Archaeologists analyzed their bones to determine their age, height and sex, as well as any illnesses or injuries. The remains of the sisters showed a strong musculature, indicating that the women were quite strong, possibly engaged in activities related to the weapons found in their graves.
“We found significant development in the upper limbs of these individuals, which is associated with repetitive, high-intensity movements such as drawing a bow or steadying a weapon,” said Zeynab Hashesh, a professor at Beni Suef University and lead author of the study. statement. “This directly explains the presence of bows, arrows and maces in women’s graves; these were not merely symbolic gifts, but tools they actively used.”
Work hard, practice more
According to the study, Prince Ita showed strong muscle contraction in the upper body, which he said used weapons such as maces or daggers. Prince Itaweret’s skeleton revealed that he was a skilled archer who survived rib and leg fractures, while Prince Khenmet had robust ligamentous appendages.
“These injuries likely occurred as a result of accidents, falls, hard blows, or other impacts associated with an active lifestyle from hunting, military training, or other demanding activities,” Hashesh said.
The mummies of Prince Noub-Hotep and King Horus also show similar evidence of being archers. The findings suggest that members of the royal family were actively involved in physically demanding activities such as archery and hunting, which is reflected in the development of their bones to support heavy muscle use.
The researchers behind the study hope to go beyond simply identifying royal women and help reconstruct their complete life stories.
“Their objects and jewelry are truly awe-inspiring, breathtaking in their craftsmanship,” Hashesh said. “However, while archaeologists have long focused on preserving these treasures, the people themselves have often been forgotten. Our research seeks to change that.”
