The mummy of Sekenenre Tao II▶ Click here for a larger view
In the 17th dynasty of ancient Egypt, which resisted the rule of immigrant Hyksos around the 16th century BC, there was a pharaoh named Sekenenre Tao II.
Unearthed in 1881 at a funeral temple on the west bank of the Nile near Luxor in southern Egypt, this pharaoh’s mummy has a rather bizarre appearance.
The right front part of the skull was broken and his hands were badly twisted.
Scholars who performed the first x-rays of the mummies in the 1960s estimated that Sekenenre Tao II, who resisted Hyxos, died fighting on the battlefield or was assassinated in the palace.
Computed tomography of the head of Sekenenre Tao II Mira’s headThere was also an inference that the embalming process would have been conducted outside the royal family based on the severely damaged mummy’s condition.
However, scholars who have recently used computer technology to analyze the mummies have come up with different hypotheses about the pharaoh’s death.
The renowned archaeologist Zahi Hawas, who served as the minister of antiquities in Egypt, and Professor Sahar Salim, a radiology department at the University of Cairo, created a three-dimensional image of the mummies using computed tomography (CT) images.
Head of Mummy Sekenenre Tao II, taken from a computed tomographyAnd I found new clues in this image.
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Relics announced on the 17th (local time) that “through CT scans, a number of microscopic skull injuries were found in addition to the previously discovered injuries. These damaged areas were subtly covered by an embalming technician.”
Former Minister Hawas and Professor Salim also compared the appearance of the Hyksos weapons stored in the Cairo Museum, such as axes, spears, and daggers, with the shape of the damaged part of the skull to find a connection.
Hyxos’ Weapon▶ Click here for a larger view
Hyxos’ Weapon▶ Click here for a larger view
In addition, by analyzing the shape of the mummy’s hand, it was estimated that it was a deformity that occurred when the arm was tied behind his back.
Based on this, the researchers estimated that Sekenenre Tao II would have been captured by the enemy during the battle and then dragged with his hands bound behind him so that he could not resist, and was killed in a sort of’exercise ritual’.
They also estimated that Sekenenre Tao II was about 40 years old when he was killed, and confirmed that materials similar to those used in modern plastic surgery were used in the embalming process at that time.
The research results of former Minister Hawas and Professor Salim were published in the international academic journal’Frontier in Medicine’ on February 17th.
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