Some ancient Egyptian royal tombs have been found by archaeologists filled with valuable treasures. But were all the tombs and pyramids of the pharaohs of this period also sumptuously garnished? What were they hiding?
Mysterious pyramids
The answer to the question posed above is negative. Indeed, while the Great Pyramid of Giza and others were incredible monuments, the grave goods that comprised them were more modest than those buried in the tombs of later pharaohs, such as Tutankhamun. “Burials in the largest pyramids might have seemed quite simple compared to Tutankhamun”explained Wolfram Grajetzki, a researcher at University College London.
The specialist also said that the pyramids were used as tombs for Egyptian pharaohs during the times of Djoser and Ahmose I. While most of these pyramids were looted centuries ago, other royal tombs remained mostly intact and provide clues to their treasures. Among them, we can cite a few: the burial chamber of Princess Neferuptah (around 1800 BC) which contained pottery, a set of coffins, golden ornaments and royal regalia ; the tomb of King Hor (c. 1750 BC) was lined with precious objects, he was wrapped in linen and his face was covered with a mummy mask; or the pyramid of King Sekhemkhet (circa 2611 BC to 2605 BC) which was found with gold bracelets, a gold scepter and various other gold jewelry.
“There were no great treasures in the pyramids”
Despite these golden objects, “there were no great treasures in the pyramids”has explained Hans Hubertus Munch, scholar who wrote about ancient Egyptian burial finds. Furthermore, no tombs dating from earlier times when the pyramids were built including large quantities of sumptuous funerary objects have been found.
This scholar further stated that during the New Kingdom (circa 1550 BC to 1070 BC), as the construction of the pyramids came to an end, more pharaohs were buried with precious grave goods. Also, still during this period, some attempted to put many ornate objects in their tombs. “This enormous mass of objects in the tombs is only an invention of the New Kingdom”said Hans-Hubertus Münch.
Hieroglyphic inscriptions
While the grave goods inside the pyramids were more modest compared to those in later ancient Egyptian tombs, many were the pyramids to have long hieroglyphic inscriptions on their wallscalled “pyramid texts”. Texts describing rituals and « sorts », according to Egyptologists. Their function? Allow the deceased to become a « ah », in other words, a spirit that exists in the afterlife. Then, the spells aimed to reunite the «The» and the « ba »parts of a person’s soul that the Egyptians believed were separated at death.
These texts ultimately reflect “a change or innovation in the ideas of the ancient Egyptians about the royal afterlife. In ancient times, documents like the Pyramid Texts may have existed, but for some reason they began to be written on the walls of the pyramid during the time of Unis (c. 2353 BC). -VS.) “has explained James AllenProfessor of Egyptology at Brown University.