Hatshepsut is one of the most famous figures in ancient Egypt. In 1479 BC, she represented her young nephew Thutmose III as the Regent. By 1473, she had begun to rule the pharaoh herself and became one of the extremely rare female sovereigns in civilization. More than three thousand years later, when archaeologists dug out thousands of fragments of her statue, scholars widely believed that her malicious successor ordered her image to be completely destroyed. However, new research depicts more nuanced images.
Jun Yi Wong, an Egyptologist at the University of Toronto, believes that a large part of the statues of female judges is the result of “failure” rituals in ancient Egypt, and their use as materials for other buildings. Although Hatshepsut (pronounced “Hat-Soothing”) faced a political backlash after her death, Wong’s research challenged the general view that Thutmose III ordered to completely undermine every representative of his former Regent with malicious intentions.
After her death, the Pharaoh’s hatshepsut monument (1473-1458 B.C.) was bound by a plan of system damage, the most common manifestation of the removal of her name and image from the temple walls,” Wong wrote in a study published today in the Ancient Journal. “This act was initiated by Thutmose III (her nephew and successor (only ruled) C. 1458–1425 B.C.), but the motivation behind it remains controversial. ”
From 1922 to 1928, archaeologists excavated many statues of Hatshepsut near her Mortuary Temple in Deir El-Bahri, Egypt. Given the conditions for damage to the characters, Herbert Winlock, an archaeologist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, led the excavation and identified it as a “dangerous relic of Thutmose,” as cited in the study.
However, Huang claimed: “Although Hatshepsut’s ‘broken face’ has occupied popular opinion, this image does not fully reflect the treatment of her statue.”
After studying the types of damage recorded in field notes, drawings, photographs and letters that were not published in 20th century excavations, Egyptologists noted that many statues were kept in relatively decent states and intact. The assumption is that if Thutmose III is in trouble with destroying Hatshepsut’s memory, his destruction will be even more thorough.
Furthermore, Wong believes that some statues in Hatshepsut are treated no differently from those of other male Egyptian rulers, including many without evidence of persecution after their death. Wong wrote.
In other words, rituals are not inherently hostile. Some damages may be caused or worsened by the reuse of the statue as building material. However, this does not completely negate the possibility that some damage is indeed related to a political rebound.
“Unlike other rulers, Hatshepsut did suffer a plan of persecution, and its broader political implications cannot be exaggerated,” Wong concluded in the Ancient Statement. “However, there is room for a more nuanced understanding of Thutmose III’s behavior, which may be driven by the necessity of rituals rather than a thorough repulsion.”
Eventually, despite the persecution, the suggestion of Hatshepsut being regarded as other dead pharaohs after his death made her a woman’s throne even more extraordinary.
