Deciphering the twisted, scary face of the Egyptian pharaoh surprised archaeologists

According to the Express, Ancient Egypt is one of the most fascinating civilizations for archeology. Thanks to archeology, many wonderful secrets about the ancient ancestors of the Egyptians have been decoded. Among the amazing finds of ancient Egypt, there is a pharaoh Little is known, but his life and death have countless mysteries, attracting the exploration and discovery of researchers.

Discovered by locals in 1871 and accessed by Egyptologists 10 years later, the Royal Cache is an ancient Egyptian mausoleum containing Mummies and burial artifacts of more than 50 kings, queens, and other royal members of the New Kingdom of Egypt (a period in Ancient Egypt’s history that spanned the mid-16th century BC to the mid-16th century). 11 BC).

In addition to legendary kings such as Ramesses the Great and Seti I, this period has a pharaoh Little is known, but his mysterious life and “violent” death have greatly interested archaeologists.

An inscription on the pharaoh’s coffin lid that reads “Seqenenre the Brave” provides the first clue to how he lived and died.

Pharaoh Seqenenre met a violent, painful death. Express photo.

Dr Richard Shepherd, a world-renowned forensic pathologist who specializes in investigating suspicious deaths, said: “When we looked at his face, it was definitely an unusual face. It’s very distorted. The whole nose, right eye, bridge of the nose, left eye are all very distorted.”

Seqenenre is the only Egyptian pharaoh ever found with such ferocious wounds.

Pointing to the horrifying wounds on the side of the pharaoh Seqenenre’s head, Dr. Shepherd emphasized: “This was a terrible external force wound. His brain was hit hard, creating an indentation like Like this crater, this wound looks a bit strange, I think, partly because the bone was crushed, maybe because the weapon was pulled out afterwards. It left a piece of the outside of the skull. overturned”.

The distorted, twisted face of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Express photo.

Dr. Shepherd attempted to find out how the pharaoh Seqenenre died by conducting the only full autopsy ever performed on the pharaoh Seqenenre’s body.

Before that, an expert named Elliot Smith conducted an autopsy on this Egyptian pharaoh in 1912, and concluded that Seqenenre died of an ax wound in a battle.

“Elliot Smith spoke of an ‘axe’ in his report, and I would like to confirm that to the best of our knowledge now,” Dr. Shepherd stated.

“When I look at these two injuries, what I can tell is that they are both lethal injuries. Even one injury can be fatal,” said Mr. Shepherd. added.

Terrible wounds on his face and forehead. Express photo.

The “violent” death of the pharaoh Seqenenre is also described in a 2005 book by Gaston Maspero entitled “History of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia and Assyria, Volume 4”.

Accordingly, author Maspero writes: “One blow with an ax severed part of his left cheek, exposed his teeth, fractured his jaw, and sent him to the ground helpless; another hit his skull. seriously wounded, and a dagger or javelin cut into his right forehead, just above his eye. His body must have been lying where he fell for some time. When the body was found, decomposition has begun, and embalming must be done as quickly as possible.”

It is widely believed that the wounds on the pharaoh’s head were inflicted by a Hyksos ax, and that other wounds to his neck were inflicted by a dagger while he was lying dead on the ground.

The absence of wounds to his arms and hands also suggests that the king died defenseless.

A 2021 CT scan shows that the pharaoh Seqenenre was in his 40s when he died, and his disfigured hands show that the pharaoh was once imprisoned with his hands bound.

The facial wounds of the pharaoh Seqenenre strongly correlate with Hyksos weapons, suggesting that he may have led military skirmishes against the Hyksos and died in one of these skirmishes.

The mummy of pharaoh Seqenenre was found in the Royal Cache

During the process of embalming Seqenenre, the embalmers are said to have tried to hide the king’s injuries. The methods used suggest that the embalming process took place in a Royal embalming workshop. After the pharaoh Seqenenre died on the battlefield, the war against the Hyksos continued.

Seqenenre’s son and successor, Wadjkheperre Kamose, the last ruler of the Seventeenth Dynasty at Thebes, is said to have launched a successful campaign against the Hyksos (who ruled Lower Egypt). However, pharaoh Wadjkheperre Kamose is also said to have died in battle during this campaign.

The pharaoh Kamose’s mother, Queen Ahhotep I, is said to have become the main ruler after her son’s death. She continued her war against the Hyksos until Ahmose I, the second son of Seqenenre and Ahhotep I, was old enough to assume the throne, completing the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt and unifying the kingdom.