New excavation work at the tomb complex of Queen Meret-Neith in the Abydos desert reveal that the woman was the most powerful female during the period in which she ruled in approximately 3,000 B.C. It’s also possible that she was the first female pharaoh of ancient Egypt!
A Female King?
Archaeologist Christiana Köhler from the University of Vienna and her team have been excavating the area and made some significant findings that led to these conclusions, according to a release from Universitat Vien.
The researchers found 5,000-year-old wine and other goods indicating Meret-Neith was the first female pharaoh. Which would mean her reign preceded that of Queen Hatshepsut. She ruled during the 1st Dynasty. And was the only woman to have a monumental tomb in Egypt’s first royal cemetery at Abydos. The new findings give some insight into this unusual woman’s life.
5,000-year-old wine jars in the tomb of Queen Meret-Neith in Abydos during the excavation. The jars are in their original context and some of them are still sealed. (Image credit: E.C. Kӧhler)
Her name means “beloved of the goddess Neith,” and she was the wife of King Djet—the third king of the first dynasty. She was also the mother of his heir, King Den. Previous findings revealed that Meret-Neith’s name was on her son’s tomb in a list of rulers with the title “king’s mother,” suggesting she was Den’s regent while he was a child.
“The very fact of having added her name to the list of kings shows that something highly important had to have happened with Meret-Neith,” Ronald Leprohon, a professor emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Toronto who did not participate in the recent excavations.
Elizabeth Carney, a professor emerita of history at Clemson University in South Carolina, added. “It really would be striking if you had a female king as early as the first dynasty.”
Just How Powerful Was She?
Large wine jars were among some of the objects in the queen’s grave. Some of the jars were still sealed and in their original condition. Inscriptions in the grave describe the queen’s role as head of the central government and its offices, including the treasury, which demonstrates how important and historically significant she was to Egypt.
Excellently preserved grape seeds were recently found in sealed wine jars in the tomb of Queen Meret-Neith in Abydos. (Image credit: E.C. Kӧhler)
The Queen’s tomb complex, made of unbaked bricks, clay, and wood, features her burial chamber. It also features the tombs of 41 courtiers and servants. Using new technology, the archaeological team determined that the tombs were constructed over a long period of time in numerous stages. This information combined with other evidence does not support a long-held theory, that has never been proven, that ritual human sacrifice was part of the 1st Dynasty’s royal burial traditions.
There is some debate as to whether Meret-Neith was as powerful as some male Egyptian kings. Particularly because women seldom held reigning positions in ancient Egypt. Regardless, it appears that she had “an unusually high level of authority for a royal woman,” according to Margaret Maitland, principal curator of ancient Mediterranean collections at National Museums Scotland.
Leprohon also noted that the term “pharaoh” did not come into use until the 18th dynasty and later. So even if Meret-Neith ruled Egypt she likely did not have that designation, which translates to “great house.”
Sensing You Want More
Are you interested in learning more about ancient Egypt? Read about the mummification process, including the removal of the body’s organs, here. You can also learn the real reason why Egyptians chose to preserve the final remains of family members.
And if you love cats, you may be pleased to learn that they were mummified in ancient Egypt for a very good reason—so check this out. In fact, Egyptians loved their feline companions so much, they even lost a battle to a cat-wielding army during the second century!
By Noelle Talmon, contributor for Ripleys.com