Damage to Ancient Carving of Egyptian Couple Was Meant to Hurt Them in the Afterlife

[Judi Lynn]

By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | January 16, 2019 11:32am ET

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The faces and hieroglyphs on this 3,500-year-old carving were destroyed by someone in ancient times.
Credit: ©GM - Tell Edfu Project 2018

An intentionally damaged limestone carving found within a 3,500-year-old shrine at Tell Edfu, in southern Egypt, shows what appears to be an ancient couple who someone tried to vanquish in the afterlife.

The carving depicts a man and woman standing beside each other, with hieroglyphic inscriptions giving their names and occupations. "The faces of the couple were [damaged]," and hieroglyphic writing on the carving had been "scratched out," Nadine Moeller, the director of the Tell Edfu Project, told Live Science. "Erasing a private person's name in ancient Egypt is usually a sign of someone wanting to erase the memory of this person and therefore obliterate their existence in the afterlife," explained Moeller, who is also a professor at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute.

"For the ancient Egyptians, being remembered after death was very important, so they would receive offerings in the netherworld. By erasing someone's name, you are also taking away their identity and the good deeds they did during their lifetimes for which they will be remembered after death," Moeller added. [The 25 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth]

The scratched-out hieroglyphs are difficult to read, and researchers are in the process of trying to reconstruct and decipher the symbols. So far, they can tell that the man "held the title of 'major' and the women held the honorific title 'noble woman,'" Moeller said, noting that the couple "belonged to [the] administrative elite of the town of Edfu."

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