Smithsonian Magazine · People & society

Ancient Egyptian Servants May Have Been Sacrificed, New Study Suggests

A recent forensic study of ancient Egyptian skulls indicates that servants buried with early pharaohs may have been deliberately killed to serve their rulers in the afterlife.

A bioarchaeologist analyzed 46 skulls from the Umm el-Qaab royal cemetery in Abydos, dating back to Egypt's First Dynasty (around 3000 B.C.E.). The study aimed to investigate the long-standing theory that hundreds of courtiers buried around royal tombs were sacrificed.

Modern forensic methods revealed significant trauma on 18 of the skulls, suggesting deliberate blows to the head. This is the first study to examine the human remains directly from these tombs to address the practice of retainer sacrifice.

The retainers were interred in subsidiary burials surrounding the tombs of King Djer and two successors, King Djet and Queen Meretneith. The practice is believed to stem from beliefs about eternal service in the afterlife or as a display of the ruler's power.

The identified wounds include multiple linear fractures and a penetrative injury. Individuals without skull injuries might have died naturally or by methods like asphyxiation that leave no skeletal marks.

The exact weapons used are unknown, but likely were flat and light, possibly made of wood. The scale of retainer sacrifice increased significantly from the first to the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty.

By the Second Dynasty, around 2730 B.C.E., subsidiary graves largely disappeared, with statuettes replacing human sacrifices. The motivations for sacrifice remain debated, with possibilities including voluntary service for eternal life or forced participation.

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