SKULL ANALYSIS FINDS HUMAN SACRIFICE AT EGYPT'S FIRST ROYAL TOMBS

A forensic re-examination of skulls excavated nearly a century ago has found evidence of human sacrifice among ancient Egypt's first kings, according to a new study. Archaeologist Dr Roselyn Campbell, of Purdue University, re-analysed 46 skulls recovered from graves surrounding First Dynasty royal tombs at Umm el-Qaab in Abydos. She found that 18 of them, around 39 per cent, show signs of injuries that were likely fatal. The skulls were originally excavated in the 1920s by British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, and the findings are published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.

Petrie uncovered hundreds of burials clustered around the tombs of First Dynasty kings, who ruled Egypt from around 3078 to 2900 BCE. He suspected the burials were evidence of retainer sacrifice, in which attendants are killed to serve a ruler in the afterlife, but found no physical evidence of fatal wounds at the time. Some graves were marked with names and titles identifying the occupants as officials or artisans. They were buried in simple chambers set in rows, Campbell said, some with coffins and grave goods such as ceramic vessels, copper tools and ivory figurines.

Campbell's analysis identified linear fractures across the skullcap as the most common injury, typically caused by flat, wide objects. Sharp force injuries were also found in some skulls, including a penetrating wound to the head and a chopping injury to the eye. She said she was drawn to study the retainers because they are often relegated to footnotes in accounts of Egyptian royalty. She wants to establish who they were and how they viewed the ruler and their own role in his or her life and death.