When Egypt’s earliest kings died, they may have been accompanied to the afterlife by more than ceremony and elaborate tombs.
Archaeologists re-examining the remains of people buried near royal tombs have found evidence that many suffered severe blows to the head.
The injuries suggest that trusted servants may have been killed and buried alongside their rulers in a brutal ritual practised around 5,000 years ago.
Experts believe the sacrifices may have been intended to ensure that the kings had attendants to serve them in the afterlife.
“Retainer sacrifice is a type of human sacrifice where those close to a ruler are killed when the ruler dies,” said lead author Dr Roselyn Campbell of Purdue University.
“In many cultures, retainer sacrifice is practised because of beliefs that the sacrificed individuals will continue to serve the ruler in some kind of afterlife, but retainer sacrifice can also be a visceral display of the ruler’s power.
“Some retainers might have volunteered to die to achieve eternal life or honour; others may have been chosen or even forced.”
Researchers re-examined 46 skulls belonging to servants and officials buried around the funerary enclosures of three First Dynasty rulers at Abydos in southern Egypt.
A fresco depicting a funeral procession in ancient Egypt. The study suggests that trusted servants were killed and buried alongside their rulers in a brutal ritual dating back 5,000 years.
Plan of the royal tombs (left) and funerary enclosures (right) at Umm el-Qaab in Abydos, southern Egypt. The diagrams show First Dynasty rulers’ tombs surrounded by rows of subsidiary burials, where researchers believe some royal retainers may have been sacrificed to accompany their rulers into the afterlife.
For the study, researchers examined 46 skulls belonging to servants and officials buried around the funerary enclosures of three First Dynasty rulers at Abydos in southern Egypt.
The remains were originally excavated during the 1920s by British archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie and are now held in the University of Cambridge’s Duckworth Collections.
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When the skulls were first discovered, experts considered whether they might represent human sacrifice. However, the remains appeared to show no signs of trauma.
Using modern forensic methods unavailable to earlier archaeologists, the researchers searched for injuries that occurred around the time of death.
They identified potentially fatal cranial trauma in 18 skulls, including multiple fractures and, in one case, a chopping wound close to the eye.
The team concluded that at least 39 per cent of those examined may have been deliberately killed by blows to the head, offering new evidence that some royal retainers were sacrificed when their ruler died.
According to the researchers, the linear fractures may initially have been mistaken for damage caused naturally after death.
A detail from a wooden label discovered in the tomb of an official at the Saqqara cemetery appears to show a bound individual being stabbed in the chest while another figure collects the blood in a vessel. The findings add to earlier evidence that ancient Egyptians carried out sacrificial practices.
An ancient Egyptian tomb painting showing a funerary or offering scene. The new study found that 39 per cent of servants and officials buried near kings’ funerary enclosures had potentially fatal head wounds.
“The injuries on the preserved crania are generally linear fractures, which would likely cause rapid unconsciousness, internal bleeding and death,” Dr Campbell said.
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, states it remains unclear exactly how the individuals were killed.
Ancient Egyptian rulers are frequently depicted striking enemies with maces, but the injuries seen on the retainers’ skulls do not match the type of damage such weapons would typically cause.
Instead, the fractures suggest they were struck with a broad, flat object, although the possibility of accidental falls cannot be ruled out entirely.
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