Few civilizations have a more mysterious reputation than Ancient Egypt.
But the point of a mystery is to solve it, and over the years researchers have learned
a lot about the land of hieroglyphs, holy cats, and very strange walks.
But there's still a lot left to learn.
Here are some mysteries about Ancient Egypt that have yet to be solved.
How did King Tut die?
King Tutankhamun is perhaps the most famous of all the Egyptian pharaohs, particularly
since he was so young when he reigned and died.
And while his tomb has been thoroughly excavated, historians still don't quite know how he died.
"It's kind of humbling isn't it."
Sadly, any obituary that might've contained the answer has long since been lost to the
ages.
So all we've got is a few decent guesses.
In 2013, a group of UK researchers revealed he had significant damage to his ribs, along
with a broken leg, which led the team to conclude that Tut likely died from a chariot crashing
into the poor boy-king.
If cartoons are to be believed, those guys drove like maniacs.
But National Geographic pointed out other possibilities as well.
It could've been a kick from a horse that did him in, or possibly even a hippo attack.
Yet another theory was thrown into the mix by the head of Italy's Institute for Mummies
and the Iceman, which is the coolest job title ever.
They relied on 2,000 computer scans plus DNA testing of Tut's family to conclude that a
chariot accident was near-impossible.
Tut apparently had a clubbed foot and couldn't stand on his own — the fact that the inside
of his tomb contained over 100 walking canes certainly supported that assessment.
"Thank you much, for the Walking Stick."
So, there's no way he was riding on a chariot.
The institute's Professor Zink thinks Tut instead died because he was the product of
incest — since his parents were brother and sister — so his already-weak body simply
gave out on him.
To further complicate matters, Tut suffered from malaria.
That alone could have killed him, but even Zink admits they have no way of knowing for
sure.
For now, the only thing ironclad about King Tut's death is that it happened… and that
he could host a pretty swingin' party.
"Haha."
Where is Alexander the Great's tomb?
Few people came closer to ruling the entire known world than Alexander the Great.
Yet, for such a famous guy, we have no idea where he's actually buried.
According to Archaeology Magazine, there was never supposed to be a tomb at all because
Alexander wanted to be thrown into the Euphrates River upon his death in 323 BC.
The reason was that he wanted followers to think he rose to Heaven to be with his father,
not his birth father, but an actual god.
His generals, however, chose to bury him instead, and he supposedly wound up entombed in three
different places.
"WHAT?"
First, he was buried in Memphis, Egypt.
Then, during either the 4th or 3rd century BC, he was moved to a new tomb, in Alexandria.
And Then!
Because... why not... the good people of Alexandria moved the body to a new location in ...Alexandria
- and that's the last documented time we know of the tomb, when Emperor Caracalla visited
it around 215 AD - almost 500 years after Alexander's death.
At some point, the tomb was likely damaged and vandalized, and now we don't have any
part of it to look at, including Alexander's body.
Identifying the Sphinx
For centuries, we knew next-to-nothing about the Sphinx.
Until 1817, all we could see was its head peeking out from layers and layers of sand.
But since then, we've learned that Pharaoh Khafre probably built it using hundreds of
paid laborers and a humongous chunk of nearby limestone.
Other than that, we still know very little about the Sphinx, including what it symbolizes.
Obviously it was built for some reason — we just don't know what it is.
Some theorists believe it's meant to be a god from that era name Ruti, who was comprised
of two lions conjoined at the back and guarded the entrance to the underworld, but that's
just an educated guess.
For now, all we can do is enjoy the strange sight of the Sphinx that stands alongside
the great pyramid of Giza.
And how'd that nose break off?
Well, at least we can blame The Flash for that one.
What happened to Queen Nefertiti?
Aside from Cleopatra, there might not be a more famous Egyptian queen than Nefertiti.
For years, she ruled alongside Pharaoh Akhenaten, until she just … vanished.
After 1336 BC, there are no records of what happened to her.
We don't even have her tomb or mummy, despite many supposed discoveries, so all we're left
with are theories.
One such theory is that she became a co-regent with Akhenaten and changed her name to Neferneferuaten.
Another idea isc that she changed her name to Smenkhkare and became a full-blown pharaoh
while disguised as a man.
"WHOA."
We may learn the answers to this mystery sooner than later.
In 2015, Egypt's minister of antiquities announced that an additional chamber (or possibly two)
may have been found in King Tut's tomb, and one of them may wind up being Nefertiti's
crypt.
If so, researchers could perhaps finally deduce when she died, and if any artwork in the crypt
indicates whether she took power in her own right, was brutally murdered somehow, or simply
vanished to a life of post-royalty anonymity.
If it worked for Bridget Fonda, it definitely works for an Egyptian queen.
Tomb of the unknown princess
In 1908, historians stumbled across a royal burial site no one had ever seen before.
And over a century later, we still don't know who was buried there.
The grave was discovered in Qurna, Thebes and contained the bodies of two people, with
coffins dated to around the 17th or 18th dynasties.
That means the bodies were at least 250 years older than King Tut and Nefertiti.
One mummy was a young woman the other was a child, presumably hers.
They both wore priceless jewelry made of gold and ivory, so clearly they were important.
Unfortunately, the inscription that might reveal who they are has been damaged beyond
legibility — leaving only "King's great wife" to be discerned.
There are a few possibilities, based on the queens of the time.
To name a few, she might have been Nubemhat, or the as-yet unidentified wife of Rahoptep.
We have far fewer, if any, clues about the kid's identity — for the time being, it's
looking to stay that way.
The pair are scheduled to be unveiled at the Museum of Scotland in 2018, once a new Egyptian
gallery is all set to go.
Maybe then someone will figure out who they are and the museum's guests will finally learn
the the truth behind these mysterious figures.
Or they can just gawk at the pretty jewelry.
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