Scientists have discovered a surprising truth about 12 amputated hands they were buried in ancient Egyptian pits.
He confirmed that the remains – all right hands – were mostly from men, and maybe one womanand can provide evidence of the ‘respectable gold’ tradition.
Discovery they provide real evidence of past events in which Pharaoh’s soldiers gave up the severed right hands of their enemies in exchange for a high prize: a collar of gold beads.
Prior to the unearthing of these finely carved hands, the practice of ‘honorary gold’ was known only through Egyptian tombs and temple paintings from 1550-1077 BC.
However, the hands show that the ceremony must have taken place about a century earlier, as they were found in the palace of the Hyksos, the throne of Egypt‘s 15th Dynasty (1640-1530 BC), invaders from the West Asia.
‘It is a difficult task,’ said the French sociologist Dr. Isabelle Crevecoeur. ‘That, to me, is a good argument that he made for the sake of tradition.’
‘There are no signs of severe cutting which suggests that it was done very carefully,’ Dr. Crevecoeur clarified, noting that he had not participated in the bone survey. ‘Not with an ax or something.’
Hands were they were found in three pits within the courtyard the ruins of the Hyksos palace, located at Tell el-Dab’a, the modern name of the ancient city of Avaris.
‘After removing both parts of the forehead, the hands were placed on the ground with the fingers extended, especially on the sides of their hands,’ the group said of the ‘cups.’
Archaeologists and other scientists now believe that the 12 hands found in the Hyksos palace are actual evidence of an ancient tradition, ‘honor gold,’ in which Pharaoh’s soldiers offered the severed right hands of their enemies in exchange for a high reward.
The hands were clearly separated from the victim’s body, which experts said was a sign that the remains were trophies.
A careful examination of the bone anatomy carried out by a German-Austrian team helped to determine the approximate age and sex of those whose hands were ritually amputated.
This osteological work, they said, included a ‘taphonomic’ study of burials, decay, and preservation that may also affect the shape of these bones, to solve other reasons for the shape of the bones shown.
But biological analysis of the bones was also done.
Because male index fingers are known to be longer than ring fingers, compared to female fingers, 11 of the hands were determined to be male.
But, it was unlikely that the twelfth hand belonged to a woman, the researchers said.
He said that the minimum age at the time of amputation of each hand was between 14 and 21 years, because the bones were well formed and after puberty.
The string of seven fly charms (above), made between 1600 and 1070 BC, symbolizes the strength and courage of the ancient Egyptians. These Golden Fly decorations were like a bravery award that was given to soldiers who showed exceptional bravery in battle, like ‘gold of honor’.
Above, a painting of Horemheb – the last pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty – receiving a ‘golden honor’ collar from King Tutankhamun. Before the discovery of the 12 severed hands, this ‘respectable gold’ ritual was known to Egyptian scholars as a joke, detailed in temple paintings such as this one.
Macabre severed hands were found in front of a Hyksos palace in the northeast of the ancient Egyptian city of Avaris – a former part of the Hyksos empire, now an archaeological site.
The maximum age was considered to be less than 60 years, because the hands did not show signs of aging.
‘This evidence,’ as the team said in their research, ‘adds to the details of cup-taking in Ancient Egypt.’
They thought that the ancient Hyksos people he had ‘repeated publications’ placing severed hands where they were found in the courtyard of the Hyksos palace.
But the researchers also said that ‘it is still not clear whether the hands were taken from dead or living people’, although ‘they must have been soft and flexible when they were placed in the hole’, before or after they entered. it ended.
The most obvious is that they were placed in the pit somewhere between 24 and 48 hours after being removed from the rest of the body.
Above, an aerial view of the courtyard of the Hyksos palace – where the remains of the hands of 12 youths were buried, three thousand years ago, perhaps as part of a ritual honoring warriors.
The most famous evidence of severed hands (photo) shown in Ahmose’s tomb at El-Kab shows the exact image of an outstretched palm.
Four universities, including the Medical School of the University of Göttingen in Germany and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, have collaborated on research into ancient amputated hands.
Austrian archaeologist Dr Manfred Bietak told the magazine’s news desk Science that they believe the tradition of ‘respectable gold’ may have been introduced into Egypt by the invading Hyksos.
The Hyksos, who ruled Egypt for about a century, may have originated from in the eastern Mediterranean, bringing chariots and new types of weapons to this civilization in North Africa.
That said, researchers remain modest about the vast gaps in knowledge about these past events that limit confidence in their conclusions.
‘Details of the life, habits, and history of the Ancient Egyptians are shown on the walls of temples and tombs, as well as inscriptions on papyrus scrolls, etc.,’ wrote Jehovah in their study.
‘Like today, information can create other ideas, have political influence, and give information in a different way than is necessarily true,’ they agreed. ‘Fortunately, in history and especially in history, we only have a few sources, sometimes for one.’
