In the Egyptian village of Deir el-Medina, researchers unearthed an unusual tomb, namely the mummy of a woman whose body was covered with inscriptions of unknown significance. Archaeologists have found that the body belongs to the Egyptian priestess of the goddess of heaven, femininity and love (Hathor). "Unknown tattoos are believed to have religious significance," archaeologists said at a meeting at Stanford.
If you look at this woman from different angles, you can see 2 pairs of eyes of the gods, which are intently peering at you. The tattoos must have been applied for a very long time and it is unlikely that such a procedure was not painless. A woman who has experienced a lot of torment when applying the inscriptions must have believed in their magical properties,”said Anne Austin from Stanford University.
The drawings found may be one of the oldest examples of body art, although this discovery was made entirely by accident. Scientists very carefully examined the mummies that were found by archaeologists from France in the century before last, not far from the famous "Valley of the Egyptian Kings".
Examining the remains of the mummy, or rather its torso, Anne Austin found lines on the neck. Initially, the archaeologist thought it was a drawing that was applied to the body after the mummification process. Scanning showed that the skin of the mummy is decorated with a huge number of tattoos (more than 30). Each of them was decorated with drawings.
Scholars argue that such drawings could be a reflection of the social status of the woman, who most likely was the priestess of the Egyptian goddess Hathor.