Have scientists solved a mummy murder mystery?
When the mummy of King Seqenenre Tao II was unwrapped in 1886, he immediately stood out from the other pharaohs discovered alongside him.
Holes of various sizes penetrated his skull. His hands were twisted. His body appeared to have decayed before mummification.
Scholars knew that the king had lived in turbulent times – his family, based in the south of Egypt, were at war with the Hyksos, foreign rulers who controlled the north. But no surviving records shed light on how he met his grisly end.
Apollo Magazine
February 18, 2021
© Leeds Teaching Hospitals/Leeds Museums and Galleries
This left his mummy as our only source of evidence. The body was examined. Scholars noted the angles of the impacts, and saw that a combination of Hyksos and Egyptian blades matched the shapes of Seqenenre’s wounds. Intriguingly, all of the blows were to his head. How could this be explained? Did the king die on the battlefield, valiantly fighting his Hyksos enemies? Was he assassinated in the palace? Or was he captured and ceremonially executed?
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