Ancient kings may have had multiple tombs
Research suggests that the lost sarcophagus of Ramesses II was hidden in plain sight. The sarcophagus, discovered in 2009 in an Egyptian burial chamber, had a complex history: ancient inscriptions on the stone container showed that it had been used twice, but while its second occupant, the 21st Dynasty high priest Menkheperre, was known, the tomb's first owner remained a mystery – ; until now.
The new clues came after Frederic Peyraudot, an associate professor of Egyptology at the Sorbonne University in Paris, reexamined the granite sarcophagus fragment and deciphered the hieroglyphs engraved on it. In the cartouche, an oval-shaped ornament often found in tombs, he found the name of a very recognizable figure: Ramesses II.
According to CNN, Peyraudeau said that the inscription is evidence that the artifact was originally in the tomb of the famous pharaoh and was reused after looting.
«Obviously, this was the sarcophagus of the king, — notes Frederic Peyraudeau. – The cartouche dates back to its first use and contains the throne name of Ramesses II, Usermaatr. He was the only pharaoh to use this name in his time, and this dispelled any doubt that this was his sarcophagus.
The findings, published in the journal Revue d’Egyptologie, add to our knowledge of Ramses II, also known as Ozymandias, one of Egypt's most famous pharaohs. It also fills a gap in our understanding of how sarcophagi were used to bury kings, CNN points out.
Ramesses II was the third king of the 19th dynasty, and his reign — from 1279 to 1213 BC — was the second longest in Egyptian history. He was known for his victorious military campaigns and his interest in architecture, which led him to commission important monuments and statues for himself. His mummy is in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo.
Another tomb, that of Ramesses II, was discovered in 1881 near Luxor, but the sarcophagus fragment analyzed in the study was found in Abydos, a city about 64 kilometers away to the northwest in a straight line.
“It's less strange than it seems,— Peyraudeau said, — because we know that his tomb was plundered in antiquity, perhaps two centuries after his death, and he is certainly not the only king to suffer from plunder.”
Previously it was believed that the granite fragment, representing almost the entire length of the long side of the sarcophagus, belonged to the prince. “But it always seemed strange to me because the decoration on this carefully crafted piece symbolized a king and contained elements traditionally reserved for kings,” — said Peyraudeau.
Psusennes I reused this sarcophagus, which once belonged to Merneptah, the son and successor of Ramesses II. The lid of the sarcophagus is at the top. The reuse of funerary objects helped link subsequent rulers to the New Kingdom period of Ramesses II, which is considered the glorious era of Ancient Egypt.
Another hint pointing to the real origin of the work, according to Peyraudeau, is that its second owner, the high priest Menkheperre, had an older half-brother of Pharaoh Psusennes I. The latter also reused the sarcophagus from the Valley of the Kings — one that belonged to none other than Ramesses II's son and successor Merneptah.
According to Peyraudeau, the reuse of funerary objects served a dual purpose. On the one hand, this was dictated by frugality during an economic crisis, but it also linked these subsequent rulers to the New Kingdom period of Ramesses II, which is considered the glorious era of Ancient Egypt.
Confirmation that the fragment is part of Ramesses II's grave goods means the pharaoh was buried in three sarcophagi stacked on top of each other, Peyraudo said. The first was probably made of gold, like Tutankhamun's, but was lost during an early robbery. Traces of the second sarcophagus were discovered in the form of fragments of alabaster during restoration work carried out on the pharaoh's tomb in the 1990s. Both sarcophagi would have been contained within an even larger stone sarcophagus, the source of the granite fragment discovered by Peyraudo.
«This also tells us when the pharaohs began using more than one stone sarcophagus, — added Peyraudeau. – During the time of Ramesses I we see only one, but the successor of Ramesses II already had four stone sarcophagi to provide greater resistance to the looting that was becoming widespread. It was strange to immediately go from one to four — Now we have two to four, which is a more logical progression.”
Peyraudeau said the fragment was still in a warehouse at Abydos, but he had informed Egyptian authorities of the find and hoped it would be moved to the museum.
Researchers in the same field who were not involved in the work highly appreciated this discovery.
Joan Fletcher, an Egyptologist and professor of archeology at Britain's University of York, called the discovery a fascinating piece of detective work that shows how the story of Egypt's ancient past is still unfolding with new discoveries and interpretations.
«The site of the latest find is also most intriguing: Ramesses’ sarcophagus was not only reused, but at some point it was moved to Abydos, which was then considered the most religious site in Egypt and the spiritual home of the Egyptian kingdom,” — Fletcher emphasizes.
Jean Revèse, a history professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal, agreed. “Peyraudeau's reading of the cartouche seems correct, and the parallels he draws with the sarcophagi of another 19th Dynasty king, Merneptah, son and successor of Ramesses II, are relevant.”
According to Peter Brand, professor Egyptology and Ancient History at the University, the coffins of the New Kingdom pharaohs were always enclosed in stone sarcophagus boxes, often made of granite, but no traces of Ramesses II or his father Seti I have ever been discovered until now. from Memphis.
“This suggests that they were both “reworked” by later Egyptians,” — notes Brand.
It is not surprising, he added, that the stone sarcophagus of Ramesses II was eventually stolen – after his grave was robbed and his mummy was safely hidden in a secret tomb – and that a later high priest borrowed this highly prestigious item for his own burial. He argued that the Egyptians had a peculiar sense of ownership of old monuments and considered such recycling to be “fair use.”
«Dr. Peyraudeau's detective work in discovering Ramesses as the original owner is remarkable and important opening, — Brand comments, — and a textbook example of “forensic” research into erased or altered inscriptions, which is often done by Egyptologists, including myself, — to understand the complex stories of ancient artifacts and better understand the long and colorful history of Ancient Egypt.”
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