The "Valley of the Kings", one of the most important archaeological treasures in Egypt, where the dead are buried, is world-famous for its many mummies and unearthed artifacts.
Through studying mummies at this site, scientists have discovered that the ancient Egyptians also had tattoos and they are looking for the meaning of those tattoos.
Infrared tattoo marks
Artisans and workers in the process of building the "Valley of the Kings" made their home in a place called Deir el Medina. Here, many tombs and many other artefacts were unearthed and many mysteries were revealed.
In 2014, archaeologist Anne Austin, of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA, and colleagues at the Institute of Oriental Archeology of France have studied 3,000-year-old mummies and have made interesting findings.
While examining the mummies with infrared light, they noticed that 3d shirt on seven bodies there were many large tattoos, which had never been identified before. The effects of time caused the mummy's skin to change color and darken, but the tattoo marks were still quite visible under infrared light. Through analysis, experts found that these tattoos have many intricate details.
One of the mummies mentioned above has more than 30 tattoos all over his neck, arms, shoulders and back, including symbols, Egyptian hieroglyphs, scarabs, lotus flowers, the eye of Horus, and geometric patterns. crosses, with strange motifs. On another mummy, the tattoo clearly shows baboon, along with other animals such as cobras and cows.
Tattoos have spiritual meanings. For example, the bull tattoo is related to the goddess Hathor, one of the most important deities of ancient Egypt, the embodiment of joy, love, motherhood, often depicted as a woman. has a cow's head and ears.
All the mummies had tattoos with different motifs, using the same tattoo technique as today, with ink and needle tools.
Where is the purpose?
The purpose of the ancient Egyptian tattoo is still unknown. Many theories suggest that bomber jacket tattoos are related to fertility, a person's status, ritual symbols, signs of worship, occult knowledge, or representations of roles. of a priestess.
Interestingly, most tattooed Egyptian mummies found to date have been female, suggesting the tattoo may have been for healers or powerful priestesses.
It is noteworthy that the tattoos are on areas of the body that are not covered. Horus's eyes were placed on her neck, shoulders, and back so that when people looked at this woman from any angle, they could see the divine eyes looking back at them.