Ancient Egypt is one of the most mysterious ancient civilizations, around which there are many myths, including anti-scientific ones. Despite the fact that we already know quite a lot about the era of the great pharaohs, it keeps enough secrets in itself. For example, we still do not know where the burial place of Queen Nefertiti is. However, the veil of this secret, perhaps very soon, will not only be slightly opened, but also flung open.
We bring to your attention several important discoveries related to the history of Ancient Egypt, which scientists have made over the past decade.
Tutankhamun's golden mask may have been made for Nefertiti
In 2015, British archaeologist Nicholas Reeves rocked the scientific world with the theory that Tut's famous burial mask was not meant for him. According to the scientist, it was originally made for the stepmother of the young ruler of Ancient Egypt, Nefertiti, who ruled along with his supposed father, Pharaoh Akhenaten.
Reeves came to this conclusion based on several signs. First, the ears of the mask are pierced. But, as you know, in Ancient Egypt earrings were worn only by women and children, and Tutankhamun was 19 years old at the time of his death, that is, by the standards of that time, he had long gone out of childhood. Secondly, the hieroglyphs with the name of the deceased pharaoh were stuffed over another inscription - the scientist believes that at first the full title of Queen Nefertiti was inscribed on the mask: "the living embodiment of the Sun God, beloved of Akhenaten, the most beautiful of the fairest of the solar disk."
By the way, at birth, Tutankhamun was named Tutankhaton, but after ascending to the throne and "replacing" the cult of Aton with the cult of Amun, he took a new name. It is in the return to the cult of Amun, according to scientists, that the secret of Nefertiti's burial lies - the priests tried to remove from history all references to the "old" deity and its main symbols, which, undoubtedly, were Akhenaten and his beautiful wife.
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The tomb of Tutankhamun, most likely, has secret rooms
But the burial place of Queen Nefertiti herself remains unknown to this day. However, archaeologists have hope: a scan of the walls of Tutankhamun's burial chamber, carried out in the same 2015, showed the presence of voids behind it, possibly of man-made origin. According to Nicholas Reeves, one of them may contain another burial chamber, where the most famous queen of Ancient Egypt is buried.
According to Reeves, Tutankhamun died suddenly and was placed in the same tomb as Nefertiti, since there was no time to build a separate tomb. The “female” version is also supported by the fact that during the 18th dynasty, to which the young pharaoh belonged, at the entrance to the female tombs it was necessary to turn to the right, to the male ones - to the left. Here the burial chamber is to the right of the entrance.
It is not yet known when the secret of the secret rooms will be revealed - the date of work on drilling the passage has not yet been determined, and the entire scientific world froze in anticipation of one of the most significant discoveries in the history of pyramid research.
Scientists have learned how stone blocks were delivered for the Cheops pyramid
As you know, the place of extraction of stone blocks, from which the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) was built, was located 800 km from Giza. Thanks to the diaries of a certain Merer found on the banks of the Nile, who led one of the construction teams of the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), scientists learned how the Egyptians managed to deliver multi-ton stone blocks.
Merer's diary at the Cairo Egyptian Museum.
In order to bring huge boulders to the pyramid, the Egyptians created artificial canals and diverted the waters of the Nile into them so that boats could come directly to the construction site. The remaining few meters were pulled by the workers on specially made skids.
By the way, at the foot of the pyramid, scientists found two hiding places in which they discovered "solar boats" - special ships designed for Khufu's travels across the sky along with the sun god Ra. Thanks to them, they managed to learn the secrets of ancient Egyptian shipbuilding and even create a ship based on their model, capable of carrying heavy loads.
Mysterious "screaming" mummy - the son of Ramesses III
One of the most powerful pharaohs of the New Kingdom era, Ramses III, was killed by conspirators after 30 years of rule over Egypt. At the head of the conspiracy was one of his wives, Tiye, who decided to put their common son on the throne. History knows him as Pentaura, but his real name was "taken away" during his trial as punishment.
The murder of Pharaoh Ramses III was very cruel: first they cut off his big toe, and then cut his throat with a dagger so that the injuries remained even on the spine. By the way, the embalmers tried to hide the injury as carefully as possible - this is eloquently indicated by the fabric wound around Ramses's neck in several layers.
According to scientists, the "screaming" mummy is none other than Pentaur, who, along with other conspirators, was captured almost immediately after the murder of his father. According to one version, he was given the opportunity to commit suicide, and according to the other, he was strangled, as evidenced by the characteristic injuries.
After death, the body of Pentaura was wrapped in an unclean, according to the Egyptians, goatskin. The embalming fluid was poured directly into the mouth, and the organs were not removed to deprive the criminal of a good afterlife. As for the open mouth of the mummy, this is not a death throes at all - it is a matter of the natural "behavior" of mummified bodies, in which the head falls back over time.
The fate of Tia herself remained unknown - perhaps, before the execution, she also changed her name, which was lost somewhere in history.
The history of Ancient Egypt is as much as 40 centuries, during which one of the most powerful civilizations developed, which had a huge impact on Ancient Rome, and therefore the modern world too. Excavation of the pyramids and new discoveries associated with them are ongoing, and who knows that we may find out about them tomorrow, so, as they say, keep your finger on the pulse.
