16 June 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

An engraving on an almost 2,000-year-old knife believed to be the oldest runes ever found in Denmark has been discovered by archaeologists

22 January 2024

22 January 2024

Archaeologists have found a small knife with a completely unique runic inscription that can be dated almost 2000 years ago....

Australia’s 1,400-year-old Mysterious Earth Rings: Evidence of Millennia of Human Effort, Not Natural Formation

21 January 2025

21 January 2025

A chain of mysterious earth rings in the Sunbury hills at the fringe of Melbourne, in Australia have been found...

First in Anatolian Archaeology, a 2,600-year-old Sacred Room and Stone Symbolizing the Goddess Kubaba Discovered at Oluz Höyük

29 November 2024

29 November 2024

Archaeologists have discovered a sacred room and stone from the Phrygian period, dating back 2,600 years, during excavations at the...

New Research Reveals Previously Unknown Aspects of the Construction, Use, and Ritual Significance of a Neolithic Rondel Found in Poland

12 December 2024

12 December 2024

An archaeological excavation at Nowe Objezierze in north-western Poland has uncovered a rondel dating to around 4800 BC, offering new...

Burial site for Enigmatic Anglo-Saxon King Cerdic found, author claims

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

The possible final resting place of Cerdic, the enigmatic founder of the Kingdom of Wessex and a key figure in...

A Nymphaeum was discovered in the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon

18 August 2023

18 August 2023

New researchs uncovered a huge monumental sanctuary of water (Nymphaeum) above the reservoir in the southern quarter of Perperikon. Professor...

Unique Viking Age sword found in Norway

14 June 2022

14 June 2022

A piece of a sword was found last year on a farm in Gausel, in Stavanger, on Norway‘s west coast,...

Archaeologists have uncovered the first human representations of the people of mythical Tartessos

19 April 2023

19 April 2023

Archaeologists representing Spain’s National Research Council (CSIS) excavating at the site of Casas del Turunuelo have uncovered the first human...

The 2800-year-old Urartians Lake, which is an engineering masterpiece of its time, is drying

13 July 2023

13 July 2023

Keşiş Lake in Van, in eastern Turkey, which was built by the Urartu King Rusa 2,800 years ago, was negatively...

Maya city Tikal put today’s urban gardens to shame

26 June 2021

26 June 2021

The Maya civilization was known for its achievements in art, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, and calendar systems. Tikal, the ancient Maya...

A new study reveals that “Bog Bodies” were part of a Millennia-old tradition

10 January 2023

10 January 2023

Archaeologists have studied hundreds of ancient “Bog Bodies” discovered in Europe’s wetlands, revealing that they were part of a millennia-old...

The Amazon rainforest was once home to ancient cities – A vast network of 2,500-year-old garden cities

12 January 2024

12 January 2024

Aerial surveys have revealed the largest 2,500-year-old ancient cities in the Amazon, hidden for thousands of years by lush vegetation...

Construction Workers Discovered Ancient Sarcophagus in Turkey

2 March 2021

2 March 2021

On Monday, reports said that during excavations in the Seyitgazi region of Eskisehir Province in northwestern Turkey, municipal staff unexpectedly...

Archaeologists Find 11 Sealed Middle Kingdom Burials Full of Jewelry in Luxor, Egypt

4 November 2024

4 November 2024

The South Asasif Conservation Project, an Egyptian-American mission working under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, has...

Outstanding Bronze Age artifacts discovered in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France

23 August 2021

23 August 2021

Hundreds of bronze objects have been discovered buried in pottery in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The research team, led...