Study of the tombs of servants adjacent to that of Queen Meret-Neith from the first dynasty of Ancient Egypt challenges the idea that human sacrifice was part of the royal burials during that period. The Queen was also found in a “monumental” tomb with hundreds of perfectly sealed 5,000-year-old jars, reportedly fueling speculation that the queen was the first pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
The University of Vienna published research challenging the idea of human sacrifice during Ancient Egypt, and more specifically during the First Dynasty.
Archaeologist Christiana Köhler and her team identified that 41 tombs of courtiers and servants found along with the tomb of Queen Meret-Neith, in Abydos, Egypt, may not have been sacrificed.
It was shown that these tombs were built over “a relatively long period of time,” which, with other evidence, “radically challenges the idea of a ritual human sacrifice as part of the royal burial in the 1st Dynasty, which was often assumed in early research but never really proven.”
The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is a period between approximately 3100 and 2900 BC that covers the first series of Egyptian kings to rule over a unified Egypt.
It has largely been assumed that servants were sacrificed during royal burials in Ancient Egypt. For instance, in the Predynastic Period (c. 4400–3000 BC), cut marks, decapitation, and dismemberment could be identified on skeletons.
According to the researchers, Queen Meret-Neith was the most powerful woman in Egypt in circa 3000 BC.
She was found to be the only person buried in a “monumental” individual tomb with hundreds of wine jars — some very well preserved and still sealed in their original state — suggesting she might have played an even more crucial role than previously thought.
Researchers also found inscriptions suggesting she had been in charge of the Treasury of Egypt, one of the highest positions in Ancient Egypt.
The discoveries fuel speculation that Meret-Neith was the first pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
