Cruel punishments of ancient Egyptians

If an Egyptian stole an animal, he would be punished with 100 whips and stabbed 5 times on his back before returning to work.

The savage image of the ancient Egyptians

From the human bones buried in the civilian cemetery in Amarna, Minya, Egypt, the researchers deduced five men with fine bone injuries. According to USA Today, a mural on the wall indicates punishment for stealing animal skin, but the research team is not sure if it happens in practice.

The sin that men have and their identity has not been clarified. If the stab wound on their shoulder is a punishment, they may have to return to work immediately afterwards. The masons were gathered to Amarna some 3,300 years ago to build giant temples and palaces for King Akhenaten.

A picture depicting sanctions in ancient Egypt.(Photo: Akhepedia.com).

Archaeologist Gretchen Dabbs at Southern Illinois University and colleagues are studying excavated skeletons from the Amarna cemetery. They found that masons in ancient Egypt suffered from food deprivation and hard labor.

People who are civilians buried in a graveyard have a high rate of joint disease, most likely a result of carrying heavy objects. Their skeletons also show signs of hunger-related diseases such as lack of vitamin C.

The team notes that some skeletons have long and deep wounds on the shoulder bone, like someone stabs them from behind and injures them. They are not like injuries caused by falling or fighting.

In ancient times, some Egyptians were executed for various types of crimes, including grave theft. Some are beaten, cut their nose, ears, hands or tongue. According to Facts on File, adulterous women were cut off to cancel their use, so they would not be able to recur.

Similar to other ancient civilizations, ancient Egyptian women were more severely punished . An adulterous man with married women only has to pay 1,000 sticks. However, if he rapes a woman with a civil rights, he will be castrated.

Scientists have not yet found a common law in ancient Egypt, but penalties are documented in funeral documents, handwritten written records and many other papers. Dabbs said it was possible that the stabbing penalty was common only in Amarna.