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Ramses III’s Throat Was Slit By An Assassin, New Study Says

Posted: December 19, 2012
Ramses III’s Throat Was Slit By An Assassin, New Study Says

The exact cause of death of pharaoh Ramses III has puzzled researchers for quite some time, but now it appears that the 3,000-year-old murder mystery has finally been put to rest.

Thanks to the discovery of court documents written on ancient papyrus, scientists knew that Ramses III’s second wife, Tiya, conspired to assassinate the pharaoh in order to place her own son, Pentawere, on the throne.

What scientists didn’t know is if the attempt was successful.

New research headed up by Dr. Albert Zink, an anthropologist at the European Academy, suggests that the attempt on Ramses III’s life was successful. The team put the mummified king through a CT scan and found that underneath bandages wrapped around his neck was a deep, wide cut, suggesting that an assassin slit the pharaoh’s throat with a sharp blade.

“Finally, with this study, we have solved an important mystery in the history of ancient Egypt,” Reuters quoted Zink as saying.

In addition to finding the wound on Ramses III’s neck, the team also noticed that an Eye of Horus amulet was embedded in the wound.

“A Horus eye amulet was also found inside the wound, most probably inserted by the ancient Egyptian embalmers during the mummification process to promote healing, add the authors,” the report reads. “The neck was covered by a collar of thick linen layers.”

The report goes on to say that a mummy, previously known as “Unknown Man E,” is likely the mummy of Pentawere. It was previously thought that the prince took his own life after being found guilty of the coup attempt, and the mummy appears to have died as a result of being hung.

The team is quick to point out that it’s still unconfirmed whether Unknown Man E really is Pentawere and that the mummy’s death-by-hanging should be considered as speculation.

Category: News
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Posted: December 19, 2012
Daniel McCall

By Daniel McCall









Comments


12 Archived Responses to “ Ramses III’s Throat Was Slit By An Assassin, New Study Says ”

  1. Anthony Svokos
    Dec 19, 2012

    How did the Egyptologists miss this? Fascinating story!

  2. Shirley Gayle Blair
    Dec 19, 2012

    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL AND A HEALTHY NEW YEAR.

  3. Anonymous
    Dec 19, 2012

    I knew it all along but no one would listen to me. Back to the drawing board.

  4. Doris Cox
    Dec 19, 2012

    Hard to believe they are just discovering this now, I know they have put the remains through numerous scans.

  5. Anonymous
    Dec 19, 2012

    Who cares about what happened 3000 yeats ago.

  6. Anonymous
    Dec 19, 2012

    Was hoping they were referring to Gordon Ramses.

  7. Randy Burk
    Dec 19, 2012

    I knew it was her!

  8. Tom Doig
    Dec 19, 2012

    Cause of death? Undetermined. Was Stevie Wonder the mortician?

  9. Stephen Glover Rowe
    Dec 19, 2012

    Like the article said, the mummy was never unwrapped; the gash was discovered via CT scan.

  10. IInferno Blaze
    Dec 19, 2012

    It says it was still wrapped up. They only saw it due to a CT scan.

  11. Richard Rivera
    Dec 19, 2012

    And over 2000 years later you still cant trust em…………………..

  12. Anonymous
    Dec 20, 2012

    Very interesting for someone that spent time in Egypt and understands how important this is to our current culture.