Evidence was found in Merneit's tomb that she was the first female ruler of Ancient Egypt (6 photos)

An international team of archaeologists excavating the 5,000-year-old tomb of Merneit in the holy city of Abydos has discovered hundreds of sealed jars containing remains of wine and other grave goods. In addition, evidence has been found that Merneit was not just the king’s wife and regent for her son and heir: she had really great power and, probably, at some period she herself ruled Ancient Egypt.





Merneith (3218–3035 BC) is known as a queen from the First Dynasty of the Early Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, the wife of King Djet and regent for his young son Den. It is generally accepted that her role was limited to this, since in ancient Egypt wives and daughters were not usually considered in terms of succession to the throne, especially in the Early Kingdom.



However, some researchers believe that she could at some time have been the sole queen. Some well-known facts are cited in support: the name Merneith is written in the royal cartouche on two steles of her tomb at Abydos. In addition to the necropolis of Umm el-Kaab in Abydos (in which she was the only woman to be buried, all other burials there were for men), a large and majestic burial complex in Saqqara is dedicated to Merneit.



Also, during the current excavations in Abydos, in addition to hundreds of wine vessels and funerary furniture, new interesting inscriptions were found - they indicate that Merneith held a number of important government posts, including in the treasury. All this indicates that she really played an important role in governing the state.



Sealed wine jugs found in a tomb

The tomb of Merneit in the royal necropolis of Umm el-Qa'b was discovered and explored by British archaeologist William Flinders Petrie in 1900. And it looked so that initially no one had even a shadow of a doubt that this was the tomb of one of the kings of Ancient Egypt.



These grape seeds are 5 thousand years old. They were found inside jugs

Now that scientists know that this is the mortuary complex of Queen Merneit, any new discovery they make can significantly complement the understanding of her and her role in history.



By the way, if Merneit was the ruling queen, she could not possibly be a “pharaoh” - this term appeared much later, around the era of the 18th dynasty (1550-1295 BC). Therefore, the epithet “the first female pharaoh” does not apply to Merneit.