8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Egyptian Pharaoh Slain in Battle Because of the Hippos

The mummy of Pharaoh Seqenenre Taa II, found in 1880, was re-analyzed. When it was found, the deep wounds on his face had drawn the attention of archaeologists. Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass and his colleague Sahar Saleem found that Seqenenre Taa II had more fractures.

Pharaoh II. Seqenenre Taa encountered a terrible death on the battlefield. According to a report published in Live Science, Pharaoh died trying to protect his country.

“This suggests that Seqenenre was really on the front line with his soldiers, risking his life to liberate Egypt,” study lead author Sahar Saleem, a professor of radiology at Cairo University, said in a statement.

That’s according to a new computed tomography (CT) study of the pharaoh’s damaged mummy, which revealed new facial wounds that ancient embalmers tried to disguise. The pharaoh had a huge slice in his forehead, cuts around his eyes and cheeks, and a stab wound at the base of the skull that may have reached the brain stem. The attackers, it seems, surrounded the defeated ruler on every side.

Cause of war Hippos

Seqenenre Taa II was the ruler of southern Egypt between 1558 BC and 1553 BC. The Hyksos controlled northern Egypt and required tribute from the southern part of the kingdom. According to what is written in fragmented papyri, II. Seqenenre Taa revolted against the invaders after receiving a complaint from the King of Hyksos that the noise of hippos in a sacred pool in Thebes had disturbed his sleep. The king lived in the capital Avaris, 400 miles (644 kilometers) away. In this fabricated accusation, the King of Hiksos demanded the destruction of the holy pool. This meant a great insult to the pharaoh. Probably this insult was the beginning of the war.

The text on an engraved rock slab found in Thebes describes the death of Kamose, son of Seqenenre Taa II and successor, in the war against Hyksos.

A CT scan of the skull of Seqenenre Taa II, whose facial wounds suggest a violent battlefiend death. (Photo © Sahar Saleem)
A CT scan of the skull of Seqenenre Taa II, whose facial wounds suggest a violent battlefiend death.
(Photo © Sahar Saleem)

The new study uses X-ray from multiple angles to build a 3D image of the pharaoh’s mummy. The pharaoh’s remains are in poor condition, with bones disarticulated and the head detached from the rest of the body.

Bad Death

The pharaoh had a 2.75-inch-long (7  centimeters) cut across his forehead, which would have been delivered from an ax or sword stroke from above. This wound alone could have been fatal. Another potentially fatal slice above the pharaoh’s right eye was 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) long and possibly made by an ax. More cuts on the nose, right eye and right cheek came from the right and from above and may have been delivered with an ax handle or blunt staff, the researchers said.

Radiologist Sahar Saleem
Radiologist Sahar Saleem

Meanwhile, someone in front of the king swung a sword or an ax at the pharaoh’s left cheek, leaving another deep slice. From the left, a weapon — probably a spear — penetrated the base of his skull, leaving a 1.4-inch-long (3.5 cm) wound.

Early archaeologists had previously reported many of these wounds, but Saleem and her colleague, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, discovered a new set of skull fractures covered by embalming material. Concentrated on the right side of the skull, the damage seems to have been caused by a dagger and a heavy, blunt object, perhaps an ax handle.

The mummy’s hands were flexed and clenched, but there were no defensive injuries on his forearms, leading the researchers to suggest that perhaps Seqenenre Taa II’s hands were bound when he died. He may have been captured on the battlefield and executed by multiple attackers, Saleem said in the statement.

The fact that embalmers tried to patch up Seqenenre Taa II’s skull wounds suggests that he wasn’t hastily embalmed, the researchers wrote in their new study, published today (Feb. 17) in the journal Frontiers in Medicine. The pharaoh’s desiccated brain was also stuck to the left side of his skull, suggesting that someone laid him on his side after his death, either at the place where he fell or while his body was being transported for embalming.

Seqenenre Taa II may have lost his life in battle, but his successors eventually won the war.

Related Articles

A huge artificial lake in Sicily is an ancient sacred pool that was aligned with the Stars and used 2,500 years ago, study reveals

17 March 2022

17 March 2022

A sacred freshwater pool on western Sicily’s San Pantaleo Island that dates back some 2,500 years was aligned with the...

Unique semi-mummified body tomb discovered in Pompeii

17 August 2021

17 August 2021

A semi-mummified skeleton was discovered in the Porta Sarno necropolis, which is located east of Pompeii’s city center and is...

Opulent Bronze Age Girl’s Tomb Discovered in Iran’s Greater Khorasan Civilization

1 August 2025

1 August 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkably rich Bronze Age burial of a young woman at the site of Tepe Chalow in...

Rare Prehistoric Animal Carvings Discovered For The First Time In Scotland

31 May 2021

31 May 2021

Animal carvings thousands of years old have been found for the first time in Scotland. The carvings, estimated to be...

Export barred on roundel manuscript gifted to Queen Elizabeth I by Archbishop

12 September 2022

12 September 2022

A rare presentation manuscript that Archbishop of Canterbury Matthew Parker gave to Queen Elizabeth I in 1573 has been sold...

8000-year-old unique “fish-figure” small home tool found in Turkey

20 October 2021

20 October 2021

During this year’s excavations in the Yeşilova and Yassıtepe mounds in İzmir, a unique “fish-figure” small home tool was found....

The 3,000-Year-Old Ancient City is Under Danger

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

For the port planned to be built in Izmir’s Aliağa district, a part of the 3,000-year-old ancient city is in...

Archaeologists in Israel are restoring the largest Roman Basilica in the country

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Archaeologists in Israel are trying to rebuild a 2,000-year-old Roman-era basilica that is thought to be the country’s biggest. A...

Mythical Viking stronghold Jomsborg could be on Hangman’s Hill near Wolin, archaeologist say

14 July 2023

14 July 2023

A new hypothesis about the location of the mythical Viking stronghold on Hangman’s Hill near Wolin (West Pomerania) has been...

Researchers explored a rock art site near Idupulapaya in India

1 October 2021

1 October 2021

A rock art site was discovered near Idupulapaya in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Rock paintings from the Megalithic...

Ancient Elegance Revealed: Exquisite Jewelry and Amulets from the 26th Dynasty Discovered at Karnak

4 March 2025

4 March 2025

In a remarkable revelation that sheds light on ancient Egyptian craftsmanship, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, alongside the...

Archaeologists unearth the long-lost homestead of King Pompey in Lynn

3 July 2024

3 July 2024

Archaeologists from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and a historian from Northeastern University believe they might have found the...

The Discovery of nobleman Khuwy could rewrite Egypt history

25 October 2021

25 October 2021

The mummified corpse of an ancient Egyptian nobleman named Khuwy, discovered in 2019, showed the ancient Egyptians were carrying out...

Excavations at Coleshill may rewrite English Civil War history

5 February 2023

5 February 2023

Archaeologists excavating the site of Coleshill Manor in Warwickshire have revealed evidence of what could be one of the first...

Seven metal detectorists found 2,584 silver coins in a southwest England field “the most expensive treasure ever found in the United Kingdom”

27 October 2024

27 October 2024

In early 2019, seven metal detectorists found a cache of 2,584 silver coins dating to the Norman Conquest that had...