The male ancient Egyptian skeleton lived more than 3,300 years ago and died at the age of 35-40, before being buried with a ring on his right toe. CREDIT: Photo courtesy the Amarna Project
Posted on 07/06/2013 12:22:59 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Archaeologists have discovered two ancient Egyptian skeletons, dating back more than 3,300 years, which were each buried with a toe ring made of copper alloy, the first time such rings have been found in ancient Egypt.
The toe rings were likely worn while the individuals were still alive, and the discovery leaves open the question of whether they were worn for fashion or magical reasons.
Supporting the magical interpretation, one of the rings was found on the right toe of a male, age 35-40, whose foot had suffered a fracture along with a broken femur above it.
Unique rings in a unique ancient city
Both skeletons were found in a cemetery just south of the ancient city of Akhetaten, whose name means "Horizon of the Aten." Now called Amarna, the city of Akhetaten was a short-lived Egyptian capital built by Akhenaten a pharaoh who tried to focus Egypt's religion around the worship of the sun disc, the "Aten." He was also likely the father of Tutankhamun...
The findings do appear to be the first copper alloy toe rings discovered in ancient Egypt. "I'm not aware of any, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Bear in mind that if we found something like this in a house, for example, we would have no idea of its purpose,"Stevens wrote in an email toLiveScience.
A gold toe ring was previously found on a mummy named Hornedjitef, a priest at Karnak more than 2,200 years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
The male ancient Egyptian skeleton lived more than 3,300 years ago and died at the age of 35-40, before being buried with a ring on his right toe. CREDIT: Photo courtesy the Amarna Project
So the Egyptians had bells on their fingers and rings on their toes?
Toe tags for the mummy morgue?
And a bone through her nose, oh ho!
Why is this mysterious?
Ancient Egypt didn’t have hippies?
Are you a mathematician? Although my major was statistics, the math department required that I take courses in modern algebra as well.
The more I learn about Akhenaten, the more he looks like a hippie. For example, he moved to Amarna before the buildings were finished, and had to live in tents, meaning that the capital of Egypt was a hippie commune for a while.
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