The ancient Egyptians buried their royalty in ornate burial complexes along with prized jewelry, clothing, food, and even pets near the deceased, so they could take these items with them into the afterlife. It is also common to discover weapons in these tombs, but not only next to royal men. In some cases, archaeologists have also found combat implements buried in ancient Egyptian women.

Historians and Egyptologists have debated the importance of these artifacts for decades. Do Egyptian women really exercise Were these weapons or were they more symbolic objects? After careful physical analysis of six ancient princesses buried beneath the pyramids of Dahshur, researchers now have an answer. In short, these Egyptian women could fight and hunt with the men.

“Members of the royal family, especially women, actively participated in skilled and physically demanding activities, such as archery and hunting,” Zeinab Hashesh, an archaeologist at Egypt’s Beni-Suef University, said in a statement. Hashesh and his colleagues detailed their findings in a study published today in the journal Frontiers in environmental archeology. His new article focuses on a group of mummies lost for years. The women were originally excavated in the late 19th century at the Dahshur funerary complex, an ancient Egyptian necropolis that is home to some of the oldest, largest and best-preserved pyramids in Giza. After rediscovering the mummies during a conservation project at the Egyptian Museum in 2020, researchers finally examined them with advanced equipment and analysis techniques.

Four of the six women were sisters whose father was Pharaoh Amenemhat II. Third ruler of the 12th dynasty who reigned during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, little is known about Amenemhat II other than her death around 1895 BC Each of the women was buried in equal underground chambers, with Princess Ita followed by Khenmet, Itaweret and an unnamed woman assumed to be her sister Sathathormeryt. At the time of the excavations in the late 19th century, archaeologists found weapons, including bows and arrows, that were traditionally associated with men. Princess Ita even owned an ornate dagger.

Despite their exciting rediscovery, time had taken its toll on the mummies. Its soft tissue turned to dust years ago and now some bones are missing, including all of the princesses’ skulls. Despite this, enough skeletal sections remain in good condition for archaeologists to assess their age, sex, height, and any notable illnesses or injuries. According to Hashesh, it soon became clear that these women had not lived a life of constant idle luxury.

“Princess Ita was a young woman between 28 and 34 years old with strong muscle insertions on her upper body, suggesting that she habitually used weapons such as maces or daggers,” he explained.

Princess Khenmet (who died between the ages of 30 and 40) exhibited thinned bones but strong ligament attachments, while her sister Itaweret showed physical signs of expert archery before dying sometime between the ages of 20 and 34. The collective development of the sisters’ upper extremities also suggests high-intensity repetitive actions, such as holding a heavy weapon or pulling the string of a bow.

“This directly explains the presence of bows, arrows and maces in the women’s graves,” Hashesh said. “These were not just symbolic gifts, but tools that they actively used.”

However, the brothers were not necessarily always in top form. Princess Itaweret’s skeleton showed healed fractures in both the ribs and foot, while several individuals had nutritional deficiencies and infections. The sisters also shared rare spinal conditions, indicating closely related parents and relatives.

“What is notable is that the wounds healed well, suggesting that they had access to advanced medical care for their time,” Hashesh added.

Unfortunately, Hashesh’s team was unable to perform additional analyzes because the princess’s skulls were missing. Future stable isotope testing could also better contextualize the family’s nutritional problems. Despite this, the discoveries made by Hashesh’s team demonstrate that the weapons possessed by some of the royal women of ancient Egypt were not simply ornamental adornments.

“Our dream would be to go far beyond simply identifying Dahshur royalty,” Hashesh said. “We would try to tell their full life stories, their families, their health and even their political roles, in as much detail as possible.”

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