24 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The mystery of the silver bracelets of Queen Hetepheres in her celebrated tomb at Giza solved

The discovery of silver bracelets in the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, wife of Pharaoh Snofru and mother of Pharaoh Cheops, in 1925 came as a great surprise to researchers. Nearly a century later, however, the mystery seems to have been solved.

Researchers have led the analysis of bracelets found in the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I. It is the first analysis of the collection in decades.

The bracelets discovered in the intact tomb of Queen Hetepheres I. (c. 2589-2566 BC), represent the largest and most famous collection of silver artifacts from ancient Egypt. As silver is rarely found in the Egyptian archaeological record until the Middle Bronze Age, the bracelets are a statement of royal privilege.

A new analysis of the bracelets shows that the silver used in them most likely comes from the mines of the Cyclades, a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea.

Photo: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

It is a special discovery. Because with that, the bracelets bear witness to the – as far as we know – the earliest trading activities between Egypt and Greece.

With Egypt lacking domestic silver ore sources, experts had proposed that the Queen’s silver might have been partitioned from specific silver-rich gold ores, or it would have been imported from Byblos, in modern-day Lebanon. Still, the bracelets had not been recently analyzed, so each of these theories remained unproven.

A group of experts led by Karin Sowada (Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia) analyzed samples of corroded bracelets from the collection, which is now housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and published their findings in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

According to the article’s abstract, the team used bulk XRF, micro-XRF, SEM-EDS, X-ray diffractometry, and MC-ICP-MS to obtain elemental and mineralogical compositions and lead isotope ratios, to understand the nature and metallurgical treatment of the metal and identify the possible ore source. It was found that the pieces consist of silver with traces of copper, gold, lead, and other elements. The minerals are silver, silver chloride, and a possible trace of copper chloride.

Bracelets in restored frame. Photo: Macquarie University – Mohammedani Ibrahim August 11 1929

The source of silver (Ag) ores may be traced by examining lead (Pb) isotope ratios in the sample. Researchers actually compared the lead isotope composition of a sample, with those from a galena (PbS) database that included some 7000 localities located between the Atlantic Ocean and Iran. What came by surprise was that the lead isotope ratios are consistent with ores from the Cyclades (Aegean islands, Greece), and to a lesser extent from Lavrion (Attica, Greece), and were not partitioned from gold or electrum as previously proposed.

“Although similarities in Pb isotope composition occur in unlikely sources such as Samos and Tunisia, which are not known for Ag production,” according to the article, “the most significant ‘hits’ are from the Cyclades (Seriphos, which has more hits, Anafi, and Kea-Kythnos), and to a lesser extent from the Lavrion mines (district of Attica in central Greece).”

Historical sources tell of the import of silver in Egypt during the reign of Hetepheres’ husband, Sneferu, but the origins are not documented.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103978

Cover photo: Egypt Museum

Related Articles

Archaeologists uncovered an Aztec altar with human ashes in Mexico City

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a 16th-century altar in Plaza Garibaldi, the center in Mexico City famous for its revelry...

Ancient Murals of Two-faced Figures Found in Peru

21 March 2023

21 March 2023

Archaeologists are reporting a number of fascinating discoveries as work on the excavations at Pañamarca progresses that are helping to...

Archaeologists may have Found a Viking Age Marketplace in Norway

21 February 2024

21 February 2024

Archaeologists from the University of Stavanger have identified the possible remains of a marketplace from the Viking Age on a...

Unique 2,000-year-old Decorated Roman Sandal Discovered in Spain

20 October 2023

20 October 2023 1

A 2,000-year-old Roman sandal was discovered during archaeological excavations at Lucus Asturum (modern-day Lugo de Llanera) in Asturias, northern Spain....

Jiroft: The Mysterious Rival of Mesopotamia and the Dawn of an Ancient Civilization

24 March 2025

24 March 2025

Recent archaeological discoveries in southeast Iran are reshaping our understanding of early civilizations, particularly the Jiroft Civilization, which thrived around...

From Tengri to Teshub: Sacred Yada Stone and Elemental Power in Ancient Anatolia

19 May 2025

19 May 2025

From the windswept steppes of Central Asia to the sacred temples of Anatolia, ancient civilizations shared a powerful belief: that...

A rare 2500-year-old saw, the first of its kind, discovered in Anatolia

28 November 2023

28 November 2023

Archaeologists conducting excavations in Çorum, the capital of the Ancient Hittite Empire in northern Turkey, discovered a 2,250-year-old saw. Recent...

3.300-year-old Hittite Inscription was Used in Gate Construction

10 May 2021

10 May 2021

Our cultural assets become victims of ignorance one by one. The works that will illuminate the darkness of history continue...

Roman Canal and Road Uncovered in The Netherlands near UNESCO heritage sites

30 July 2021

30 July 2021

Dutch archaeologists that a canal and gravel road thought to have been built and used by the Roman military have...

‘Theodoric the Great’ villa mosaic found near Verona in Italy

17 April 2022

17 April 2022

A section of the ancient Roman mosaic flooring from the 5th century AD villa of Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great...

Angkor Wat Reopens

26 April 2021

26 April 2021

After being temporarily closed on April 7 to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to locals, Apsara National Authority and Angkor...

Germany: 700-year-old Causeway Found Under Central Berlin Street

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

Archaeologists from the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin (LDA) made a sensational find during their excavation at Molkenmarkt: about 2.50 m below Stralauer...

The colored skeletons of Çatalhöyük provide insight into the burial rituals of a fascinating society that lived 9000 years ago

18 March 2022

18 March 2022

New research provides new insights into how the inhabitants of the “oldest city in the world” in Çatalhöyük (Turkey) buried...

7,000-year-old discovery in Umm Jirsan Cave

28 June 2021

28 June 2021

Archaeologists have made new discoveries in the Umm Jirsan cave in the Harrat Khaybar lava field in northern Saudi Arabia....

Earliest evidence for intestinal parasites in the UK came from Stonehenge

20 May 2022

20 May 2022

Researchers think they have discovered the earliest evidence for intestinal parasites in the UK. Ancient poop found at the site...