Severed right hands unearthed in ancient Egypt palace
A team of archaeologists excavating a palace in the ancient city of Avaris, in Egypt, has made a gruesome discovery.
The archaeologists have unearthed the skeletons of 16 human hands buried in four pits. Two of the pits, located in front of what is believed to be a throne room, hold one hand each. Two other pits, constructed at a slightly later time in an outer space of the palace, contain the 14 remaining hands.
Apparently the first actual evidence of such a practice that has only(?) been known textually.
What is “large” wrt the hands? Compared to what?
Anyway, it’s what you’d expect if a kid grew up in low-tech agriculture and then went for a soldier, training with mace and spear and short sword, and shovel.
Comment by Richard Aubrey — August 11, 2012 @ 3:54 pm
I was wondering about that size business. OTOH, one of the male burials at Kom el-Hisn I excavated was similar to what earlier people had called “warrior” graves and he seemed quite robust (admittedly I had only the bottom half).
Comment by acagle — August 12, 2012 @ 2:44 pm
The recruiting sergeant isn’t going to take a shrimp. He’ll eat pretty well, whatever happens to the farmers, and he’ll get lots of exercise. I heard on a documentary that, even considering the fighting, until the last inter-emperor wars, that Roman legionaries had a longer life expectancy than civilians. The state was going to feed them and provide medical care.
‘nother doc had a Dark Ages cemetery in Britain being excavated. The remains were of guys larger than the average for those days, so they came from the upper class. The upper class at the time were either fighting nobles or the sons went into monastery. The key would be evidence of wounds, healed, or not.
Forensic studies of a graveyard of Roman gladiators. Guy claimed he could tell which weapon was the specialty of the departed, based on things like differential arm length–two inches in one case, iirc. Went to an Northwest Ordnance school–aka the Harvard of Horticulture–and some of the guys I knew were from farms. Even at the age of, say, nineteen, they had impressive hands. Hundred years ago, probably look like excavating buckets.
Comment by Richard Aubrey — August 12, 2012 @ 6:47 pm