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our Anthem. Click to

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learn more. Before

0:31

we begin, a quick note. This

0:34

episode was written and recorded in late 2023.

0:38

It also includes an extended version. The

0:41

extended version of this episode is available

0:43

on my Patreon. It includes

0:45

extra information related to this tomb

0:47

and the discovery. It's nothing

0:49

essential, you can still understand the full

0:52

story without it, but for

0:54

those who are interested in the extra

0:56

details and nitty-gritty, the extended

0:58

version goes much deeper into the

1:00

archaeological discussions and some of the

1:02

questions surrounding this monument. Also,

1:05

the Patreon episode includes a PDF

1:07

booklet with photographs of many of

1:10

the treasures and extensive notes and

1:12

references related to this subject. So

1:15

this episode is the shorter version, but it

1:17

still gives the full and complete story. If

1:19

you are interested in some extra extended

1:22

material, you can find that on my

1:24

Patreon. Links in the episode

1:26

description. Thank you! Hello

1:37

and welcome to a History

1:39

of Egypt podcast mini-episode. This

1:42

is the treasures of Queen Getep

1:44

Heres, a curious discovery that occurred

1:46

in 1925 at the great

1:49

necropolis of Giza. The

1:51

tomb of Getep Heres, just east

1:54

of the Great Pyramid, is

1:56

a curious find. One that still

1:58

presents many questions. In this episode,

2:01

we explore a fascinating discovery, an

2:03

unusual excavation, and an enduring question

2:07

of ancient Egyptian history.

2:12

Come, let us visit the

2:14

tomb of Queen Hetep-Herez. Our

2:27

story begins in 1925. Cairo,

2:30

the capital of Egypt, was bustling.

2:33

Tourism was on the rise, thanks

2:35

to the discovery of King Tutankhamun

2:38

and his undisturbed tomb in 1922.

2:43

City travelers were flocking to Egypt

2:45

from all over the world, and

2:47

they went to visit the southern

2:49

city, Luxor, to see the treasures

2:51

of Tutankhamun as they emerged from

2:53

his sepulchre. Egyptologists

2:56

like Howard Carter had

2:58

become household names, and

3:00

the field, overall, was booming. There

3:03

had been controversies, and we'll come back to

3:05

those later as they are relevant, but

3:08

overall, Egyptology and archaeology

3:10

was enjoying more attention

3:12

and renown than ever

3:14

before. It was a good

3:16

time to dig. As the

3:18

tourists came to Cairo, many of them

3:21

stopped to view the great monuments of

3:23

the city. Naturally, most

3:25

of those groups made the

3:27

pilgrimage to Giza. Dominating

3:29

Cairo's western horizon, the Giza

3:32

Plateau was an easy draw.

3:35

Its three enormous pyramids,

3:37

commissioned by the kings

3:39

Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaure,

3:41

respectively, lined the horizon,

3:44

and around those pyramids, smaller

3:46

structures like the pyramids of

3:48

Queens and masterbours for royal

3:51

officials, transformed the

3:53

Giza Plateau into a vast

3:55

cemetery, a true necropolis,

3:57

a city of the dead.

4:00

Compared to the Valley of the

4:03

Kings, where unbelievable treasures were still

4:05

emerging, Giza was a

4:07

bit more reticent. Archaeologists

4:10

had done important work over the past

4:12

few decades, but the

4:14

actual finds were largely pieces

4:16

of art like beautiful statues,

4:19

or more academic information. Scholars

4:22

were rapidly expanding their knowledge of

4:24

Giza and its necropolis, of

4:26

Old Kingdom funerary architecture, and

4:29

of the social and labour organisation

4:31

of the pyramid builders. Basically,

4:34

Egyptologists and academics were having

4:36

a field day, but

4:39

for the tourists there was

4:41

a distinct lack of shiny

4:43

golden treasures. Little

4:45

did they know, but as those

4:48

two groups wandered around the great

4:50

pyramid, especially its eastern face, their

4:53

footsteps passed over the top of

4:55

wonderful things. Just

4:57

next to the Khufu pyramids, great

5:00

boat pits lay concealed beneath sand

5:02

and stone, and those

5:04

enormous boats would not emerge until the

5:06

1950s. And

5:09

just east of the great pyramid,

5:11

amid a tumble of smaller monuments,

5:14

there were still magnificent treasures

5:16

to find. This

5:19

is where our story begins. On

5:22

February the 9th, 1925, a

5:25

Monday, an archaeological team

5:27

was at work on the Giza

5:29

Plateau. They were clearing

5:31

sand and rubble and documenting the

5:33

monuments east of the great pyramid.

5:37

Here there was still much work to be done.

5:40

The Eastern Cemetery, quote-unquote, is

5:42

dominated by smaller pyramids, the

5:45

Queen's pyramids of Khufu, master

5:48

burs for royal officials and

5:50

priests from the 4th, 5th

5:52

and 6th dynasties, and

5:55

the enormous temple and causeway

5:57

of Khufu himself. Modern

6:00

Cemetery is a busy area, even

6:02

now. Archaeologists

6:04

continue to work in this region, and

6:06

they still make periodic discoveries. In

6:09

1925 it was particularly active,

6:11

thanks to an ongoing excavation,

6:14

funded by Harvard University and

6:16

the Boston Museum of Fine

6:18

Arts. The excavation

6:20

was officially led by a

6:22

professor named George Andrew Reisner.

6:25

He was not present at the time, being

6:27

in America on a visit, but

6:30

his assistants and the excavation team

6:32

were still working. And

6:34

amidst this hustle and bustle, a

6:36

young man was taking photographs. A

6:40

man named Mohammed N. Ibrahim,

6:42

or Mohammed Aani in some

6:44

reports, was the official expedition

6:46

photographer for this excavation. Ibrahim

6:49

had already documented many significant

6:52

discoveries, and you might have

6:54

seen his photos without realising it. He

6:56

was a skilled photographer, with a

6:58

knack for capturing the difficulties of

7:00

excavation, and the labour

7:03

involved in archaeology. He

7:05

was also skilled at conveying the

7:07

larger contents of archaeological finds. With

7:10

a tripod and a careful eye,

7:13

Mohammed Aani Ibrahim is one of

7:15

the forgotten heroes of early 20th

7:17

century archaeology. His photos

7:20

are informative and beautiful. The

7:22

expedition was lucky to have him. Anyway,

7:26

on Monday, the 9th of February,

7:28

Ibrahim was working at Giza, just

7:31

east of the Great Pyramid. He

7:34

was setting up his tripod, preparing

7:36

to photograph a street, quote unquote,

7:38

not far from the ruins of

7:41

Khufu's temple and causeway. As

7:43

he unloaded his tripod and began

7:46

setting it up, something unexpected happened.

7:48

One of the legs of the

7:50

tripod started to sink, pressing down

7:52

into the ground. That

7:54

was strange. The Giza plateau is

7:56

dominated by limestone, which, while porous, is a

7:59

very small part is relatively stable.

8:01

A tripod shouldn't be sinking that easily.

8:04

Apparently something was there. Ibrahim

8:07

alerted the excavation leader, a

8:09

man named Alan Rowe. They

8:12

quickly cleared the sand away from

8:14

the surface and identified a patch

8:16

of plaster and stone. It

8:18

seemed that there was a monument,

8:20

possibly a burial shaft, located in

8:22

this region. Again, that

8:24

was strange. At Giza,

8:27

most tombs or burials have a

8:29

superstructure, a monument on top of

8:31

them. This is either a pyramid

8:33

or a mastaba, a mud brick structure

8:35

that lays on top of the tomb

8:37

itself. Here, there was something

8:39

like a hole in the ground, but

8:42

it was clearly closed with slabs of

8:44

stone and a layer of plaster. It

8:47

was unexpected, and the team were not quite sure

8:49

what to make of it. For

8:51

the next couple of weeks, nothing happened.

8:54

The excavation was busy with other areas

8:56

and projects, but then,

8:58

on Thursday the 19th

9:00

of February, the archaeologists were free

9:02

to turn their attention to Ibrahim's

9:05

patch of plaster. Over

9:07

the next couple of weeks,

9:10

the archaeological team, including Egyptian

9:12

laborers, cleared sand, rubble, and

9:14

debris. They were meticulous.

9:16

They stopped whenever they found an

9:18

object or small item, and they

9:21

carefully documented those items, recording

9:24

their position and location. Doing

9:27

this, they slowly built a profile

9:29

of the excavation scene. This

9:32

kind of methodical, meticulous

9:34

record-keeping was slow, but

9:37

important, and it was

9:39

part of the new scientific archaeology that

9:41

was taking shape in the early 20th

9:43

century. Compared to

9:46

older generations, these new excavators

9:48

were far more careful and

9:50

attentive, recording everything they

9:52

saw, in case it proved

9:54

important later. It

9:57

is a method still used today, and it

9:59

took shape in this era. From

10:01

February 19th to March 7th,

10:03

the team cleared the sand and

10:05

rubble. As they dug,

10:08

they started to uncover a curious monument.

10:11

First, there was a staircase cut

10:13

directly into the Giza plateau. It

10:16

headed south, and the steps descended for

10:19

about three and a half meters, or

10:21

eleven feet. They had

10:23

been covered over with stones, but as

10:25

the team removed them, they found this

10:27

passage going down. Then

10:30

the staircase suddenly switched to a

10:32

short tunnel. The tunnel went

10:34

ahead for another meter, or three

10:36

feet, before once again changing shape.

10:40

Now, at the end of the staircase

10:42

and tunnel, the monument switched to

10:44

a pit. A rectangular

10:46

shaft, about 2.3 meters

10:49

wide, suddenly opened up before

10:51

them. The archaeologists

10:53

duly photographed recorded it, and

10:55

then began digging down. The

10:57

shaft proceeded in a roughly

11:00

straight line below the surface

11:02

of Giza. It was

11:04

not a perfect shaft. The walls were

11:06

roughly cut, bending and expanding as they

11:08

went deeper into the rock. The

11:11

shaft itself was full of sand,

11:13

loose rubble, and large chunks of

11:15

stone. Some of those

11:17

stones were quite large, almost blocks

11:19

or miniature boulders. And

11:22

amid the debris, small items occasionally

11:24

came to light. The

11:27

excavators found fragments of pottery,

11:29

broken bits of stone from

11:31

other monuments, and all

11:33

kinds of miscellaneous detritus. Most

11:36

notably, that pottery that was

11:38

coming up was distinctly Old

11:40

Kingdom in style. The design

11:42

and manufacture corresponded with pottery

11:44

of the Fourth Dynasty. That

11:47

was helpful, giving the excavators a

11:49

rough starting date for the monument.

11:52

The shaft, wherever it led, might

11:55

be Old Kingdom. Perhaps

11:57

it would even be contemporary, with the

11:59

great pyramid it sees. Meter

12:02

by meter, the team cleared the rubble

12:04

and documented it. At

12:06

first, the monument did not seem

12:09

that promising. For one

12:11

thing, it didn't look like a tomb,

12:13

or at least not an Old Kingdom

12:15

tomb. As I said,

12:17

burials at Giza tend to have monuments

12:19

on top of them, structures like a

12:21

pyramid or a master bar. The

12:24

ones that don't are usually test

12:26

pits, abandoned monuments that were never

12:28

completed, or structures of

12:30

much later periods. So

12:33

the basic design was not promising.

12:36

Furthermore, the architecture itself was

12:38

kind of rough. The

12:40

shaft was small, the stone

12:42

carving was haphazard, clearly unfinished.

12:45

It looked like a rush job,

12:47

or again, something that was started

12:49

but then abandoned. So

12:52

at first glance, the stairs

12:54

and the shaft, while interesting,

12:56

did not exactly scream major

12:59

discovery or even treasures ahead.

13:01

Nevertheless, the excavators were

13:03

cautiously excited. Although

13:06

this monument was small and out of

13:08

sorts with other structures at Giza, it

13:10

did have one promising figure. As

13:13

they dug, it became clear that

13:16

the rubble and detritus filling the

13:18

shaft was relatively undisturbed. That

13:21

might sound oxymoronic. How can

13:23

rubble be undisturbed? Isn't

13:25

it kind of disturbed by nature? Well,

13:28

yes and no. The stone and debris

13:30

were jumbled about. But

13:32

there were also layers of sand. Periodically

13:35

in the shaft, the diggers found

13:37

clean sand that had no detritus

13:39

or objects within it. Clean

13:42

sand is a wonderful find in

13:44

any excavation. It marks

13:46

a layer where nothing has disturbed

13:48

the ground since the original construction.

13:51

And below these chunks of stone and bits

13:54

of pottery, the archaeologists were

13:56

finding layers of clean sand.

13:59

So… The monument seemed to

14:01

be intact, undisturbed since

14:03

its original construction. With

14:06

that in mind, the possibilities began

14:08

to multiply. The

14:16

dig continued, meter by meter, day

14:18

by day. It was

14:20

laborious, sweaty work, even in the

14:22

Egyptian winter, and the

14:24

shaft went down and down and down.

14:27

About seven and a half meters

14:30

below the surface, twenty-four feet, something

14:32

interesting appeared. The archaeologists

14:35

found a small niche, a

14:37

hollow cut into the side of the shaft.

14:40

The niche contained two wine jars

14:42

and a set of bones. The

14:45

bones came from an animal, a

14:47

bull to be precise, and they

14:49

included the bull's skull and assorted

14:51

bits. These items were

14:53

carefully placed, they were not debris

14:55

or rubbish, and the bones

14:58

and wine appeared to be a meal.

15:01

That was an interesting find. The

15:04

ancient Egyptians tended to leave

15:06

food and drink carefully arranged,

15:09

in or near to tombs. They

15:12

seemed to be the remains of offerings,

15:14

or maybe banquets held during the funeral,

15:17

items that could commemorate and nourish

15:19

the soul of the deceased. The

15:22

presence of these wine jars and

15:24

the bull, an expensive animal, suggested

15:27

that the find was, indeed, a

15:29

tomb of some sort. Again,

15:31

that was a little bit unexpected. So

15:35

far, the objects found indicated

15:37

an Old Kingdom date, roughly

15:39

Fourth Dynasty. But as

15:41

I said, most of the Old

15:43

Kingdom tombs at Giza are part

15:45

of masterbers or pyramids. So

15:47

a shaft cut into the rock seemed

15:50

out of sync with the other monuments

15:52

in the region. With

15:54

that in mind, the team was cautious.

15:57

The find was increasingly looking like

15:59

a a burial of some sort, but

16:02

they were going to have to wait and see.

16:05

As it turned out, the team was

16:07

right to be cautious. For

16:09

more than three weeks, the team

16:12

cleared and documented the shaft. The

16:14

hole, or square pit, went down

16:16

and down and down into the

16:18

plateau. Finally, though, the team

16:21

approached the end of their dig. From

16:24

25 meters below the

16:26

surface, about 82 feet down,

16:29

the team started to encounter stone

16:31

blocks. These were not the

16:33

random bits and rubble they'd encountered so far.

16:36

These blocks were neatly arranged in

16:38

order. Someone had

16:41

laid them carefully, filling the passage

16:43

with a solid blocking of stone.

16:46

That was exciting. It suggested

16:48

that whatever lay at the bottom

16:50

was important enough to seal away

16:53

and protect. Now, more

16:55

than ever, a tomb seemed

16:57

likely, and apparently this

16:59

tomb was undisturbed. At

17:02

this point, the excitement was building. A

17:04

tomb of the fourth dynasty right next

17:06

to the Great Pyramid? That

17:08

seemed to promise all kinds of

17:11

possibilities. Were the team

17:13

about to uncover another Tutankhamun? The

17:16

archaeologists removed the stones, documenting them

17:19

as they went. Now

17:21

things were accelerating. As

17:24

they withdrew each block, the edges of

17:26

a chamber started to appear. This

17:29

was along the south wall of the shaft. The

17:32

chamber was blocked with stones, but

17:34

the outline was unmistakable. The

17:36

team had reached the bottom of the shaft, and

17:38

they had found a room. And

17:41

once again, it seemed undisturbed.

17:43

The chamber was closed with a layer of

17:46

blocks and masonry, and before the

17:48

team could open that chamber, they had to

17:50

finish clearing the shaft. This

17:52

part was important. Although they may

17:55

have been desperate to get into the chamber,

17:57

they had to do their job properly. Good

18:00

that they did, for amid the

18:02

blocks and rubble, the team found

18:04

seals. Small lumps

18:06

of clay stamped with hieroglyphs, which

18:09

the ancients used to seal boxes

18:11

and jars and to record royal

18:13

activity. Clay or

18:16

mud seals are a great

18:18

find for historians. They often

18:20

reference kings, royal officials, or

18:22

government departments. Whenever

18:24

an ancient bureaucrat or representative

18:26

needed to mark their authority,

18:29

a mud seal was a good tool. The

18:32

team found some of these at the bottom

18:35

of the shaft. The seals

18:37

were fragmentary and broken, but

18:39

they still contained legible hieroglyphs,

18:42

and on some of them the archaeologists

18:44

could identify a name. The

18:46

seals referenced the king,

18:49

Horace Medjadu. Horace

18:51

is Khufu, the second ruler of

18:53

the fourth dynasty and the man

18:55

who commissioned the Great Pyramid. Along

18:58

with some other hieroglyphs referencing government

19:01

departments, the seals painted a clear

19:03

picture. The shaft, closed

19:05

and buried, seemed to be from

19:07

the reign of Khufu, so

19:10

it was contemporary with the

19:12

Great Pyramid itself. At

19:15

last the shaft was clear. The

19:17

chamber was ready to be opened. The

19:20

day had arrived. On

19:22

March 8th, a small

19:24

group gathered at the shaft. In

19:27

charge was Alan Rowe, who was

19:29

Dr. Reisner's assistant. There

19:32

was also Thomas Greenlee's, a South

19:34

African-British archaeologist who was keeping a

19:36

diary of the whole project. There

19:39

were also Egyptian workers whose names

19:41

are not recorded, and

19:44

possibly Muhammad-Ani Ibrahim,

19:47

but I couldn't find a specific mention of him.

19:50

The point is, the team would have been small, the

19:52

shaft was cramped, and no one knew

19:55

exactly what they had found. To

19:57

avoid disappointment, the first opening

20:02

The team removed a block from

20:04

the doorway that sealed the chamber,

20:06

and Alan Rowe stepped forward with

20:08

a flashlight. He poked it

20:11

through the hole and shone light

20:13

into the ancient darkness. What

20:15

did he see? Rowe's light

20:18

pierced the chamber, and

20:20

immediately it reflected off

20:22

gold. Bits of

20:24

metal all about lay within the hall.

20:27

The metal was fragmentary, piled atop

20:29

different items. But it

20:32

was abundant, and there seemed to

20:34

be a variety of it. In

20:36

one section there were what appeared to

20:38

be golden rods. In

20:40

another, scraps of gold that looked

20:42

like a box, another pile seemed,

20:44

maybe, to be the outline of

20:47

furniture. Equally important,

20:49

there was the unmistakable outline

20:51

of a stone sarcophagus. Just

20:54

near to the doorway, shining

20:56

dullly in the torchlight, there

20:58

was an alabaster or travertine

21:00

casket. Now it

21:02

was definitive. Alan Rowe

21:04

and the expedition team had uncovered

21:06

a tomb. A wealthy

21:09

tomb. Like Howard Carter

21:11

before him, Alan Rowe was having

21:13

a moment of wonderful things. The

21:16

excitement must have been overwhelming, but

21:19

surprisingly the archaeologists did not

21:21

continue. Officially, this

21:23

excavation project was under the

21:26

authority of Dr. George Reisner,

21:28

and by the protocols of the time,

21:31

the archaeologists needed to wait for him

21:33

before they would open the monument and

21:35

examine it. Unfortunately, Reisner

21:37

was still in America, and

21:40

it would take some time before he could return

21:42

to Egypt. So a

21:44

few days after the initial opening,

21:47

the chamber was resealed, pending

21:49

Reisner's return. Surprisingly,

21:51

we now have to wait an entire

21:53

year. The next

21:56

phase of work did not begin until

21:58

January, 1920. That

22:01

was, apparently, the point at which Reisner

22:03

was able to return to Egypt and

22:06

take official charge of the excavation. I

22:08

can only imagine how frustrating that must

22:11

have been for Alan Rowe or Greenleys

22:13

or the Egyptian workers who had laboured

22:15

so hard in February and March of

22:17

1925. They

22:20

had done all that work, got right to

22:22

the door of the chamber, but

22:24

now they had to wait. The

22:27

impatience must have been incredible. Nevertheless,

22:30

the team did their job. They resealed

22:32

the chamber, filled the shaft with rubble

22:34

and sand once more, and buried the

22:36

site until they were able to return.

22:40

On January 21, 1926, Reisner was at Giza. He

22:45

was assisted by a notable Egyptologist

22:47

named Dawaz Dunham, and

22:49

now they, together with their assistants and

22:52

the Egyptian workers, formally began

22:54

to clear the tomb that had

22:56

been discovered. Remarkably, this

22:58

clearance was going to take a long

23:00

time. Almost twelve

23:03

full months. The

23:05

chamber that they had opened was a

23:07

haphazard affair. The ancient

23:09

objects, mostly made of wood and

23:11

covered with gold, had disintegrated, leaving

23:14

just the metal behind. So

23:17

the objects were in a terribly

23:19

fragile condition, and they would need

23:21

careful treatment and conservation as they

23:23

were removed from the chamber. Also,

23:26

the assemblage itself was in a

23:28

great confusion, more on that later,

23:31

and that was going to complicate the

23:33

excavation of the hall. In

23:36

earlier generations, a find

23:38

like this might have been cleared

23:40

quite quickly, within a matter of

23:42

weeks or even days, but as

23:45

I mentioned earlier, Reisner and his

23:47

team were part of a new

23:49

generation of archaeologists that were far

23:51

more concerned with conservation and careful

23:54

record keeping when they were doing

23:56

their work. That care

23:58

and attention, combined with the terribly

24:00

disintegrated state of the objects

24:03

meant that clearing this chamber was

24:05

going to take much longer than

24:07

its size might suggest. Fortunately,

24:10

Reisner and his team had

24:12

the patience, the resources, and

24:14

the care to do this

24:16

job properly. So,

24:18

from January to December

24:21

of 1926, they carefully

24:23

cleared and studied the monument.

24:27

What did they find? When

24:29

Alan Rowe first opened the chamber,

24:31

he saw a stone sarcophagus, a

24:33

pile of broken furniture covered with

24:36

gold, and bits of assorted pottery.

24:39

In one sense, the tomb was kind of a

24:41

mess. But once they

24:43

began properly studying and clearing it,

24:46

the archaeologists were quickly able to

24:48

reconstruct the original furniture that had

24:50

laid within it. The

24:52

sarcophagus, made of stone, was the primary

24:55

item. Where around it, the

24:57

ancients had placed a couple of chairs

24:59

or thrones, a wooden

25:01

sedan or carrying chair, a

25:03

bed with its headrest, boxes

25:05

of toiletries and vessels, jewellery,

25:08

and a large assortment of pottery. There

25:11

was also a strange set of objects, long

25:14

rods made of wood and covered

25:16

with gold. They seemed

25:19

to fit together somehow, but the

25:21

ancients had disassembled these rods and

25:23

snacked them together atop the sarcophagus.

25:26

It wasn't clear what this was, but

25:28

it was an intriguing find. Reisner

25:31

and his team could also identify

25:33

boxes, which seemed to

25:35

contain ancient artefacts. These

25:37

included a set of jewellery bracelets

25:39

made of silver, and various

25:41

toiletries and stone vessels that may

25:43

have been placed in the tomb

25:46

for the deceased's use in the

25:48

afterlife. There was even

25:50

a set of copper razors that

25:52

the person might use to maintain

25:54

bodily hygiene in their immortal life.

25:57

Basically, the chamber, although in a terrible way, was a very

25:59

simple one. decayed and haphazard state,

26:02

seemed to include many of the

26:04

items you would expect in a

26:06

classic wealthy burial. So

26:08

judging by the assemblage itself, the

26:11

tomb clearly belonged to somebody important.

26:14

That was also reinforced by the location

26:16

of this tomb. The chamber

26:18

and shaft were located very

26:20

close to the Great Pyramid

26:22

of Khufu, and since

26:25

the objects found within this tomb

26:27

conformed to a 4th dynasty date,

26:29

that suggested that whoever lay within

26:32

this chamber, they had been

26:34

buried here with the approval of the

26:36

king himself. After all,

26:38

Khufu probably wouldn't let just

26:40

anyone build their tomb in

26:42

his sacred necropolis. So

26:45

who was the owner of this tomb?

26:48

The answer was quite intriguing. This

26:57

episode of the History of Egypt

26:59

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and thank you for listening. Throughout

28:15

1926 the archaeological team

28:18

carefully removed the fragments of

28:20

furniture and small objects that

28:22

lay within the chamber. As

28:25

they did so and as they

28:27

began the laborious process of restoration,

28:30

they were gradually able to identify

28:32

the owner of the tomb itself.

28:34

Apparently the chamber belonged to

28:37

a woman named Khetep Kheres.

28:40

Khetep Kheres was a member of

28:42

the royal family in the early

28:44

fourth dynasty, around the time

28:46

of King Khufu and his father

28:48

King Seneferu. Roughly speaking, she probably

28:50

lived around 2630 BCE up to

28:52

maybe 2580. We can't

29:01

say for sure, more on that later,

29:03

but that's a likely period for her

29:05

life. Khetep Kheres'

29:07

origins are unknown. Her

29:10

name means something like her

29:12

face is pleasing or her

29:14

face satisfies. If that

29:16

is her birth name then apparently

29:18

her baby face was extremely pleasing

29:21

to her parents. If it's

29:23

a name she took on later then

29:25

it might reflect her position and

29:27

splendor within the court. However

29:29

you look at it, Khetep Kheres is

29:31

a classic name of the Old Kingdom

29:33

royal family, partly reflecting the

29:36

attitudes of the time but also

29:38

the influence and prominence of the

29:40

lady herself. Beyond the

29:42

name, her origins in a family

29:44

and political sense are uncertain at

29:47

best. Clearly she came

29:49

from the extended royal family at

29:51

the very least, but none of

29:53

her titles explicitly named her parents.

29:56

There was one reference that called Khetep

29:58

Kheres the God's Daughter

30:01

of His Body, the

30:03

Saat Nechar in Khetef.

30:05

That's an unusual title, the significance is

30:08

a little bit unclear. It

30:10

definitely refers to a king of some

30:12

sort, nobody but the king or a

30:14

god is going to be called the

30:16

Nechar. But how it

30:18

actually connects this lady with the king

30:21

in question? That is unknown.

30:23

Personally, I wonder if maybe a

30:26

title like God's Daughter of His

30:28

Body refers to a girl born

30:30

after her royal father had died.

30:33

The idea, as I imagine it,

30:35

is that perhaps she was conceived

30:38

while her royal father was still

30:40

alive, but she wasn't

30:42

born until sometime after his

30:44

death, that is, when he

30:46

had become a god. That

30:49

is pure speculation on my part, but it

30:51

might be an explanation. An

30:54

alternative could be that God's Daughter

30:56

of His Body is connected with

30:58

some kind of temple or religious

31:00

ritual, a conception related to fertility

31:02

and the great gods themselves. Again,

31:06

it's an uncertain title, we're not entirely

31:08

sure what it means, and there's a

31:10

lot more research to be done. All

31:13

we can say is that Hetepares had

31:16

this title, so she is

31:18

connected to a king in some way,

31:20

we're just not sure how. Anyway,

31:24

the origins of Hetepares are

31:26

murky at best, but

31:28

as the archaeologists reconstructed the artefacts

31:30

of the queen, they were able

31:33

to identify certain things. For

31:36

one thing, many of the objects

31:38

belonging to Hetepares associated

31:40

her with the king Seneferu.

31:43

Seneferu was the father of

31:45

King Khufu, who commissioned the

31:47

Great Pyramid. Seneferu, the

31:49

maker of wonderful things, had

31:52

commissioned three magnificent pyramids in

31:54

his own time, Episode 5,

31:57

and his reign and court had been

31:59

legend for its wealth,

32:01

power and opulence. Apparently,

32:04

Hetep Harris was a member

32:06

of Senefero's family. Along

32:09

with that basic connection, other titles

32:11

came to light on the artefacts

32:13

of this lady. As I mentioned,

32:15

she was called the God's daughter

32:17

of his body. She

32:19

was also described as, all

32:21

things that she orders are done for

32:24

her. This is quite

32:26

a common epithet that basically communicates

32:28

the prestige, influence and power of

32:30

the person in question. Basically,

32:33

Hetep Harris was a boss.

32:35

Anything she wanted, it was done. Hetep

32:39

Harris was also the controller

32:41

of the butchers for the Acacia

32:43

House. This is a

32:45

common title for royal women, and it

32:48

seems to connect them with the larger

32:50

economic institution of the palace as an

32:52

organisation and group of people. Then,

32:55

Hetep Harris was the follower

32:57

of Horus. Basically, she

33:00

was a close associate of the

33:02

king, a member of his entourage,

33:04

and prominent within his court. Finally,

33:07

the most significant title

33:09

associated with Hetep Harris

33:11

was, Mother of

33:13

the King of Southern and Northern

33:15

Egypt. This title,

33:17

which in Egyptian is Mut

33:19

Nesut Beati, is an important

33:22

one. Apparently, Hetep Harris

33:24

was the mother of a pharaoh.

33:27

But which king was she the

33:29

mother of? That's a surprisingly

33:31

difficult question to answer. The title,

33:34

Mut Nesut Beati, Mother of the

33:36

King of Southern and Northern Egypt,

33:38

does not make any reference to

33:40

the actual king himself. So

33:43

there's a couple of candidates. Because

33:45

the artefacts of Hetep Harris associate

33:47

her very closely with Seneferu, we

33:50

might wonder if she was the

33:52

mother of that particular king. That

33:55

is unlikely, because according to

33:57

the archaeological and historical information,

34:00

the mother of King Seneferu is

34:02

most likely a woman named

34:04

Mares Ankh, so while her

34:06

artifacts connect her with Seneferu,

34:09

Hetepares is probably not that

34:11

king's mother. With that

34:13

in mind, it seems quite likely

34:15

that Hetepares was actually the mother

34:17

of Khufu. Although

34:19

we cannot prove this definitively, the

34:22

location of her tomb, just east

34:24

of Khufu's Pyramid, and

34:26

the title Mother of the King of Southern

34:28

and Northern Egypt, makes it

34:30

quite likely that this is the

34:32

mother of that king. If

34:35

that is accurate, then Hetepares was

34:37

a prominent and influential member of

34:39

the royal family at

34:41

the time of the greatest activity

34:44

in pyramid building. During

34:46

her lifetime, the Egyptian people

34:48

had constructed the three magnificent

34:50

pyramids of King Seneferu, and

34:53

they began work on the enormous

34:56

Great Pyramid itself. Put

34:58

that together, and Hetepares

35:00

must have witnessed incredible

35:02

feats of engineering, economic

35:04

and social organisation, and

35:07

sheer determination on the part of the

35:09

Egyptian people. If we

35:11

had access to a time machine, she

35:13

would definitely be an interesting person to

35:16

meet. Anyway, the

35:18

artefacts contained within the tomb made

35:20

it clear. This chamber,

35:22

this monument, belonged to the

35:24

Queen of Egypt, the mother

35:26

of the king, Hetepares. She

35:29

whose face is pleasing. Although

35:32

the origins of Hetepares are unknown,

35:35

and her exact relationship with

35:37

Khufu is technically unproven,

35:40

it does seem quite likely that she

35:42

was his mother. At

35:44

some point during his reign, Khufu

35:46

had to arrange the burial of

35:48

his female parent, and he

35:50

decided to lay her to rest in a

35:53

tomb near his own. Back

36:03

in 1925, the archaeologists,

36:05

led by George Reisner, were

36:07

hard at work on the

36:09

excavation, conservation and

36:12

restoration of Hetepares tomb.

36:15

At this point, the story

36:17

takes an interesting turn, both

36:19

from an archaeological and a

36:22

modern perspective. The clearance

36:24

of this chamber was an enormous

36:26

undertaking, one of the most difficult

36:28

tomb clearances in Egyptological history, so

36:31

the excavators had their work cut out for them.

36:34

They would carefully remove the

36:36

thousands of fragments of metal,

36:38

wood, stone and pottery from

36:40

the chamber. They

36:43

would take these fragments, some of

36:45

which were tiny, to laboratories on

36:47

the Giza Plateau for conservation, and

36:51

hopefully they would be able

36:53

to identify and perhaps reconstruct

36:55

the ancient items. In

36:58

this sense, Reisner's excavation was fortunate that

37:00

it occurred in 1925, and not 10

37:03

years earlier.

37:07

The discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in

37:09

1922 had shown the world just how

37:11

splendid the

37:14

ancient treasures could be. More

37:17

importantly, they had shown the

37:19

public and investors how valuable

37:21

it was to excavate carefully,

37:24

to remove items slowly with

37:26

the utmost protection, and

37:29

a focus on conservation. Compared

37:31

to earlier generations, Reisner and

37:34

his team could more readily

37:36

convince their backers that care

37:38

and conservation would pay good

37:40

dividends. That being

37:42

said, there was a political issue

37:44

lurking in the background. It

37:47

had to do with excavations and

37:49

the possession of artefacts found within

37:52

them. Again, this

37:54

question had arisen strongly during

37:56

the discovery of King Tutankhamun.

38:00

When Howard Carter and his

38:02

wealthy backer, Lord Carnarvon, had

38:04

uncovered that tomb, there had

38:06

been some expectation on their

38:09

part that the treasures and

38:11

objects might be divided between

38:13

the archaeologists and the Egyptian

38:16

government. Ideally, for

38:18

the foreigners, some objects would

38:20

become Lord Carnarvon's personal property

38:23

to display or dispense as

38:25

he wished. In

38:27

the event, though, the Egyptian government

38:30

and antiquity service stepped forward

38:32

to ensure, in no uncertain terms,

38:34

that division would not happen. A

38:37

find like Tutankhamun, of such

38:39

magnificence and scale, must not

38:42

in any way leave Egypt.

38:45

That decision and dispute had

38:47

caused all kinds of disturbances

38:50

among the foreigners, including archaeologists,

38:52

scholars and politicians. But

38:55

the issue was co-prominent. The

38:58

discovery of a royal tomb, intact

39:00

and undisturbed, brought the question

39:02

of artifacts and ownership into

39:05

the spotlight. This

39:07

affected the Hetepares excavation.

39:10

Although George Reisner and his

39:12

team were operating on behalf

39:14

of co-foreign institutions, Harvard University

39:17

and the Boston Museum of

39:19

Fine Arts, there would

39:21

be no division of finds. By

39:23

the rules of 1925, the

39:26

Chamber of Hetepares counted as

39:28

an intact royal burial. Thus,

39:32

every item was required to stay

39:34

in Egypt. It came under the

39:36

authority of the Antiquity Service, and

39:38

they were responsible for it. That

39:41

could have been a major issue, but

39:43

it wasn't. In this

39:46

context, we should commend the

39:48

Reisner excavation and the Egyptian

39:50

government for reaching a remarkably

39:52

innovative compromise. The treasures

39:54

of Hetepares would remain in

39:56

Egypt, but as

39:58

part of the excavation, the process, Reisner's

40:01

team were permitted to do

40:03

something ingenious. As

40:05

they reconstructed and restored the treasures,

40:08

they would also make replicas. Exact

40:12

copies of the items would be

40:14

prepared during the conservation process. Those

40:17

replicas would go to Harvard University

40:19

and the Boston Museum of Fine

40:21

Arts to display or dispense as

40:24

they wished. The result

40:26

was kind of a best of both worlds.

40:29

The treasures of Hetepares remained in

40:31

the Nile Valley, her original home,

40:33

but the replicas made with exact

40:35

reference to the original pieces, those

40:38

could travel overseas to educate

40:40

and delight the public, especially

40:43

those without the means to travel.

40:46

It was a clever solution, and

40:48

as a result, the Boston Museum

40:50

of Fine Arts today possesses a

40:52

complete set of treasures connected with

40:55

Hetepares. They are exact

40:57

1-1 replicas of the original finds,

40:59

and they reveal the wealth of

41:01

this ancient queen. The

41:03

replicas were made by three men,

41:06

Ahmed Yousaf Mustafa, William

41:08

Arnold Stewart and Joseph

41:10

Goethe. And

41:12

thanks to the extensive documentation of

41:14

this excavation, you can see

41:16

photos of them working on the replicas

41:19

in connection with the ancient pieces. You

41:22

can see the fragments of Hetepares

41:24

furniture laid out carefully on soft

41:26

wooden beds, and you

41:28

can see the objects as they are

41:30

slowly reconstructed. All of

41:32

these photos are available on the

41:34

website Digital Geyser, which is run

41:37

by Harvard University. I'll put

41:39

a link in the episode description if you wish to

41:41

see them. Anyway, for

41:43

12 full months, the

41:45

archaeologists carefully cleared the tomb

41:48

chamber. They conserved and

41:50

restored the tiny fragments, until they

41:52

were able to reconstruct the elaborate

41:55

furnishings and objects. Once

41:57

they had cleared the chamber, there was only one

42:00

item left, the large alabaster

42:02

or travertine sarcophagus. The sarcophagus rested

42:04

along the eastern side of

42:06

the hall. It had a beautiful

42:09

yellowish tinge, with deep bands

42:11

running through the stone. The sarcophagus

42:13

was simple, no particular adornments

42:15

or decorations, but it was finely

42:17

crafted and beautifully made, the sort

42:20

of casket you might expect

42:22

for a queen. During

42:24

the twelve months of clearance and

42:26

conservation, the team did not touch

42:28

the sarcophagus. They did not

42:30

try to open it, and they did not

42:32

try to examine its contents. As a result,

42:35

it wasn't until 1927 that

42:38

Reisner and his associates finally

42:40

looked within. On

42:42

March the 3rd, a small crowd gathered

42:44

within the tomb. This

42:46

included Reisner and his assistants like

42:49

Alan Rowe and Greenleys. It

42:51

also included the leaders of the

42:53

Egyptian workers. They are not named

42:56

specifically in the report of the

42:58

opening, but they probably included Mahmoud

43:00

Ahmad Saeed, who was the foreman

43:02

or overseer of the Egyptian workers

43:05

at the time. The assembly also

43:07

included some government bigwigs, whom Reisner

43:09

had invited for this special occasion.

43:12

The small group gathered around the

43:14

sarcophagus. The workers carefully inserted tools

43:16

between the lid and the base, in

43:19

order to prize it free from the

43:21

container and slowly lift it off. They

43:24

did this work, and as they removed

43:26

the lid, the team excitedly gathered to

43:29

peer within the casket. What

43:31

they saw was nothing.

43:34

The sarcophagus was empty. It was

43:36

entirely devoid of any objects, or

43:38

even scraps of material that might

43:41

indicate the presence of a body.

43:44

As you can imagine, this

43:46

was crushingly disappointing, and

43:48

in the report, the team is

43:50

described as withdrawing silently from the

43:52

tomb, as if almost

43:54

embarrassed by the disappointment of the

43:57

day. The presence of an empty

43:59

sarcophagus immediately raised serious

44:02

questions. The rest

44:04

of the tomb contained all the

44:06

furnishings you might expect from a

44:08

proper wealthy burial, and yet when

44:10

it came to the body itself,

44:12

there was nothing there. This

44:14

was a confusing question, and I'll come back to

44:16

it in just a moment. Following

44:19

the disappointment of opening the

44:21

sarcophagus, Reisner arranged its removal.

44:24

On April 18th, a team

44:26

of workers constructed a tripod

44:28

above the shaft of Hetepares'

44:31

tomb. Then, using wooden

44:33

rollers and ropes, they carefully dragged

44:35

the sarcophagus out of its chamber

44:38

and then lifted it up the

44:40

shaft. In a sense, the Egyptian

44:42

workers now reversed the work that

44:45

their ancestors had done some 4000

44:48

years earlier. The sarcophagus

44:50

was taken to the old museum

44:52

in Cairo, near Tahrir Square. Today,

44:55

it has been moved to the

44:57

Grand Egyptian Museum, where it will

44:59

undergo conservation and then be placed

45:01

on display with the rest of

45:04

Hetepares' treasures. Surprisingly, the

45:06

removal of the sarcophagus was

45:08

not the final point in

45:10

the excavation. During their

45:12

excavations, archaeologists had identified a

45:14

section of the wall on

45:17

the western side of the chamber that

45:19

seemed to be an alcove or

45:21

niche. This was an area that

45:23

the ancient builders had cut into the

45:25

rock and then blocked with a collection

45:27

of stones and plaster. Alcoves

45:29

or niches are extremely common in

45:32

Egyptian tombs, and they tend

45:34

to contain smaller chambers or goods used

45:36

for the burial. On

45:38

May 21st, 1927,

45:41

Reisner and his team removed the blocking

45:43

of this alcove. What

45:45

they found was even more curious.

45:49

Within the alcove, there was

45:51

a small alabaster box that

45:53

was square shaped and divided into

45:56

four compartments. This

45:58

box was the Canopi. A

46:01

chest designed to hold the organs

46:04

or viscera of the deceased person.

46:06

The Canopic chest itself was made of

46:09

the same stone and had the same

46:11

design and craftsmanship of the great sarcophagus.

46:14

They were clearly made together as

46:16

furnishings for this tomb, and yet,

46:18

while the sarcophagus was empty, the

46:20

Canopic chest was still in the

46:23

chamber. This was even

46:25

more unusual. On May

46:27

23, 1927,

46:29

the archaeologists removed the Canopic

46:31

chest, following its study, recording,

46:33

and conservation. At this

46:36

point, the tomb of Hetepares was closed

46:38

and sealed for good. To

46:40

the best of my knowledge, it has

46:42

never been reopened or re-examined. At

46:46

this point, the story of the excavation came

46:48

to its end. But

46:50

there were many questions left

46:52

unanswered. Why had this

46:54

chamber been constructed just east of

46:56

the Great Pyramid? Why

46:58

had it been filled with

47:01

all kinds of funerary items,

47:03

including a complete suite of

47:05

furniture and high-quality objects for

47:07

the queen, Hetepares? And

47:09

most importantly, why was all of

47:11

this here when there was no

47:13

body within the casket? At

47:16

this point, our story turns from

47:18

a straightforward tale of archaeology and

47:21

excavation to a proper case of

47:23

detective work and crime scene investigation.

47:26

It's a crime with no body, but

47:28

that in itself is part of the

47:30

mystery. What

47:33

is the deal with the chamber of Hetepares?

47:36

Why is it here? And where

47:38

is her body? In

47:46

1955, George Reisner's

47:48

full archaeological report of the

47:50

tomb was finally published. Reisner

47:53

himself had died in the 1930s,

47:56

but thanks to his extensive

47:58

and meticulous record keeping, and

48:01

the full suite of photographs and

48:03

notes related to the tomb's excavation,

48:06

Reisner's colleagues were able to compile his

48:08

notes and what he had written and

48:10

put it together for publication. Much

48:13

of what I am about to tell you

48:15

comes from Reisner's book and the work of

48:18

later Egyptologists. If you are interested

48:20

in this material, most of it is available

48:22

online for free download. Just

48:24

follow the links in the episode description

48:26

to see the bibliography. To

48:28

begin with, we should establish the

48:31

facts of the Hetepares Chamber. Firstly,

48:34

the chamber itself is unusual.

48:36

It is dug into the ground

48:39

of the Giza Necropolis, but it

48:41

entirely lacks a superstructure, like a

48:43

mastaba or a pyramid. The

48:45

chamber itself was fully stocked with items

48:48

suitable for a tomb burial. It

48:50

had a sarcophagus, a canopic

48:53

chest, furniture, pottery, personal adornments,

48:55

and items for Hetepares convenience.

48:59

And yet, all of these

49:01

objects were basically pointless because

49:03

there was no body. From

49:05

the outset, it seemed quite likely that

49:08

the burial of Hetepares had been disturbed

49:10

in some way. Tomb

49:12

robbery is extremely common in Egyptian archaeology

49:14

and it has been going on for

49:17

thousands of years, but the

49:19

presence of all the other objects,

49:21

including such an abundance of gold,

49:23

was a very curious situation. If

49:26

the tomb had been robbed, why

49:28

would thieves leave all that precious

49:30

golden metal? More importantly,

49:32

the archaeological context itself suggested

49:34

that the Hetepares Chamber had

49:36

been closed and sealed in

49:39

the reign of Khufu, and

49:41

it had not been disturbed since then.

49:44

So if there had been a robbery

49:46

of Queen Hetepares' tomb, it

49:49

must have happened before that final

49:51

closure. But that is an interesting

49:53

point that we'll come back to in a moment.

49:56

The overall challenge is that nothing

49:58

in the surviving archaeological remains

50:00

points conclusively at a

50:03

single explanation. Studying

50:06

the problem, George Reisner suggested a

50:08

possible solution. In

50:10

his view, the Queen Hetepares

50:12

might originally have been buried

50:14

in a tomb at Dachshua

50:16

or Medum. These

50:18

were the cemeteries commissioned by her

50:20

husband, King Seneferu. And

50:23

traditionally speaking, an Egyptian queen

50:25

would be buried close or

50:27

in association with her royal

50:29

husband. Hypothetically, Queen

50:31

Hetepares had been laid to rest

50:34

in a tomb somewhere near to

50:36

Seneferu himself. But

50:39

following that, Reisner suggested that

50:41

Hetepares' original tomb had been

50:44

robbed. In the course

50:46

of this robbery, the Queen's body had been

50:48

removed from its sarcophagus, refilled

50:50

for jewellery and amulets,

50:52

and then, somehow, destroyed.

50:54

In this scenario, royal officials

50:57

had discovered the violation of

50:59

the tomb, and they had

51:01

conspired, with or without King

51:03

Khufu's knowledge, to arrange the

51:05

reburial of Queen Hetepares' items.

51:08

In this scenario, the body

51:10

of Queen Hetepares was entirely

51:12

lost, and the royal

51:14

officials somehow concealed that from Khufu,

51:17

and laid the Queen's items to

51:19

rest at the tomb in Giza.

51:21

The abacus was done quickly and

51:23

quietly, resulting in a haphazard and

51:26

kind of rust construction. But

51:28

once they got everything into the tomb,

51:30

they sealed it, felled the shaft, and

51:32

concealed it. There it

51:34

lay for four thousand years. Reisner's

51:38

explanation was ambitious. It

51:40

had a lot of hypotheticals, and the

51:42

big problem is that there's not much

51:45

proof that any of this actually happened.

51:48

It is certainly conceivable. It's

51:50

just, how would you prove

51:52

that elaborate series of events

51:54

without more information? This

51:56

issue was apparent early on,

51:58

and subsequently In the beginning,

52:01

multiple Egyptologists have re-examined the tomb

52:03

and situation of Hetepares to try

52:05

to understand more fully what had

52:08

happened. The most important discussion

52:10

was by Mark Lainer in 1985. As

52:14

part of his PhD study

52:16

on the Giza necropolis, Lainer

52:18

re-examined the evidence surrounding the

52:20

burial of Hetepares. His

52:23

hypothesis, summarized briefly, went as

52:25

follows. In Lainer's

52:27

idea, Queen Hetepares was always

52:29

buried at Giza, not Dachur

52:31

or Meidum. She

52:34

was probably buried early in the

52:36

reign of Khufu, when construction work

52:38

had only just begun on the

52:40

Great Pyramid Complex. The

52:42

location of her tomb, not far

52:45

from his actual pyramid, was done

52:47

quickly, at a time when the

52:49

overall layout of this complex was

52:51

still being finalized and confirmed. Subsequently,

52:55

changes to the Great Pyramid, and

52:57

the addition of new pyramids and

52:59

mastabas alongside it, demanded

53:02

that royal officials re-enter the

53:04

tomb. They removed the queen's

53:06

body and took it to a new

53:08

burial site. Again, this

53:10

hypothesis is entirely plausible, but

53:13

it still has large gaps that we

53:15

can't exactly prove. That

53:17

is Lainer's idea. Perhaps Hetepares

53:20

was always buried at Giza, and

53:22

as the Great Pyramid construction project

53:24

evolved, subsequently her body was removed

53:27

and buried somewhere else. The

53:29

third idea comes from Zahi Hawas. Hawas

53:33

proposes a slightly different timeline compared

53:35

to Lainer or Reisner. For

53:38

Hawas, the disturbance and reburial

53:40

of Hetepares might actually date

53:42

to a later era, specifically

53:44

the first intermediate period, when

53:47

the Old Kingdom royal house

53:49

had gradually lost power and

53:51

influence, and the Kingdom, quote-unquote,

53:54

kind of collapsed into disunity.

53:57

That era, the first intermediate period, might have

53:59

been a very different time. might have seen some looting

54:01

and damage in various royal

54:03

cemeteries, more on those in

54:06

the future. For Hawas, it

54:08

is possible that the damage

54:10

and reburial of Hetepares' tomb

54:12

actually dates to the first

54:14

intermediate period. Again,

54:16

this is possible. There is archaeological

54:19

evidence that Giza itself was damaged

54:21

and partially ransacked during that time.

54:24

But the big issue here is that all

54:27

of the evidence from the tomb

54:29

itself dates to the fourth dynasty. There

54:31

are no artifacts or materials dated

54:33

to any later period, so

54:35

it seems very unlikely that the monument

54:38

was disturbed at that time. Finally,

54:40

a scholar named Hans Hubertus

54:42

Munch suggests that actually the

54:44

chamber of Hetepares is not

54:46

a tomb or burial at

54:49

all. Munch suggests that

54:51

rather this chamber is a deposit,

54:54

a cache of items connected with the

54:56

queen, but not actually intended as a

54:58

burial. That one, I

55:00

think, is the least convincing, simply because

55:03

all of the artifacts within the chamber

55:05

point to a tomb and a burial.

55:08

Even if that burial is missing a body,

55:11

everything else within the monument points to

55:13

that situation. I'll come back to this

55:15

in the extended version of this episode

55:18

to explore it more fully. So

55:20

we have a few plausible scenarios. Maybe

55:23

Hetepares was buried somewhere else in

55:25

a different necropolis. Her tomb

55:27

was robbed and her body was

55:29

destroyed. All of her

55:31

items were then moved to her new

55:33

burial site at the Giza plateau. When

55:36

this happened and how are

55:38

still entirely unknown. But somehow

55:40

the original burial was disturbed.

55:42

The queen's mummy was lost

55:45

and what remained was placed in

55:47

a new burial site. On the

55:49

evidence currently available, that is the

55:51

best we can propose. I

55:53

do wonder if there is another explanation.

55:56

Perhaps when Hetepares died, she

55:58

died in service. circumstances that

56:01

actually caused the loss or destruction

56:03

of her body. Perhaps

56:05

the queen drowned or was killed in an

56:07

animal attack, and her possessions,

56:09

her funerary items, were placed in

56:12

the chamber as a kind of

56:14

symbolic burial, a way

56:16

to ensure her immortality even if

56:18

her body had been lost. That

56:20

is pure speculation on my part, and I'll get

56:22

into it a bit more in the extended episode,

56:25

but I do wonder if that might

56:27

be a potential explanation. Bringing

56:30

it all together, the tomb

56:32

of Heddab Harris is a

56:34

genuine archaeological mystery, a crime

56:36

scene with no specific evidence

56:38

for a crime, and yet

56:40

such an unusual situation of

56:42

artefacts and furnishings that we

56:44

can't help but wonder if

56:46

something went terribly, terribly wrong.

56:49

Whatever happened exactly, this

56:52

monument just east of the Great

56:54

Pyramid is one of the more

56:56

intriguing in the Giza Plateau. Compared

56:59

to her contemporaries, who enjoyed magnificent

57:01

pyramids and decorated master batooms, the

57:03

queen Heddab Harris, likely the mother

57:06

of Khufu himself, went

57:08

to her rest in a

57:10

small undecorated chamber beneath the

57:12

Giza Plateau. Her tomb

57:14

contained an abundance of high-quality

57:17

expensive objects, including items

57:19

she could use in daily life

57:21

and in eternity. And yet,

57:23

for all that wealth and care in

57:25

the preparation of this tomb, one

57:28

thing was missing. The queen

57:30

herself is gone, we do not know

57:32

where her body lies, and we don't

57:34

even know if it survives. In

57:37

2023, the chamber of Heddab

57:39

Harris remains as mysterious as it did

57:42

in 1925. Perhaps

57:45

future excavations will give us more

57:48

answers, or future scholarship

57:50

in the archives and records

57:52

of Reisner's excavation may furnish

57:54

some explanations. For

57:57

now, the best we can say is that for

57:59

all All her wealth for all her splendor,

58:02

Hetepares' afterlife is a question

58:04

mark at best. Hopefully

58:07

her soul made its way to the

58:09

western horizon, to the kingdom of the

58:11

great gods, and while her body might

58:14

be missing, hopefully she lies

58:16

in peace. Today,

58:19

the treasures of Hetepares are

58:21

beautifully preserved, both in the

58:23

Cairo Museum and in exact

58:26

replicas in the Boston Museum of

58:28

Fine Arts. Whether you

58:30

are in Egypt or Boston, they are

58:32

well worth a visit, and they provide

58:34

a beautiful picture of the wealth and

58:37

comforts of an ancient Egyptian queen. For

58:40

now, this is all we

58:42

can say about the life,

58:44

death and afterlife of Queen

58:46

Hetepares, she whose face

58:48

is pleasing, a mother of great

58:50

pyramids. And

59:03

now, a brief epilogue. Among

59:06

the many objects discovered within the

59:08

tomb of Hetepares, there was a

59:11

box containing jewellery. These had decayed

59:13

and crumbled over the centuries, but

59:15

the archaeologists were able to restore

59:17

and reconstruct them. The

59:20

jewellery within this box took the form

59:22

of bracelets, a set

59:24

of armbands, maybe ankle bands or

59:27

wristbands, that belonged to Queen Hetepares.

59:29

The bracelets followed a similar pattern,

59:31

they were made of silver, with

59:34

inlays of fayants, turquoise and precious

59:36

stones. They were decorated

59:38

with insects and sun discs, more

59:40

on that later, and they were

59:43

clearly items of high value and

59:45

prestige. The bracelets were made

59:47

of silver, but Egypt is

59:49

naturally poor in silver. The

59:52

country has an abundance of gold and

59:54

copper in the eastern and southern deserts,

59:58

but silver usually had to be used. imported

1:00:00

from overseas lands. In

1:00:03

this sense, an interesting development occurred in

1:00:05

2023. Scientists

1:00:08

from Macquarie University in

1:00:10

Sydney, Australia gained permission

1:00:12

to re-examine the bracelets

1:00:14

of Queen Cateperis. Studying

1:00:17

tiny fragments of the metal, they

1:00:19

were able to identify the mineral

1:00:21

components and profile of the silver

1:00:24

itself. Most notably,

1:00:26

isotopic analysis of the silver

1:00:28

suggested that it was originally

1:00:31

mined in a land far

1:00:33

away from Egypt. The

1:00:35

silver in these bracelets most closely

1:00:37

matched silver that comes from the

1:00:40

Cichlides, that is the region of

1:00:42

the Aegean Islands near modern-day Greece.

1:00:45

Apparently, Cateperis had a set

1:00:47

of bracelets made of silver

1:00:50

that had been imported either

1:00:52

directly or through long-range trade

1:00:54

networks from the lands across

1:00:56

the Mediterranean. This

1:00:59

discovery was fascinating. It adds

1:01:01

further evidence to historians' understanding

1:01:03

of ancient trade routes and

1:01:06

the international connections between Egypt,

1:01:08

the Near East and the

1:01:10

Mediterranean. From the Late

1:01:12

Bronze Age, the Middle and New Kingdoms, we

1:01:15

know a lot about these trade networks. But

1:01:18

for the Old Kingdom and earlier

1:01:20

periods, archaeologists are still gathering evidence

1:01:22

and piecing them together. The

1:01:24

discovery that the silver of

1:01:26

Cateperis bracelets originated in the

1:01:29

Aegean area, that was

1:01:31

a remarkable find. This study

1:01:33

is available on open access online. If

1:01:35

you would like to read it, you

1:01:37

can find a reference in the episode

1:01:39

description. One final

1:01:41

point. The bracelets of Cateperis are

1:01:43

decorated with a similar motif. They

1:01:46

are all adorned with moths or

1:01:49

maybe butterflies, and in between,

1:01:51

they have orange circles. These

1:01:53

orange circles probably represent sun-discs, the

1:01:56

symbol of the god Ra, which

1:01:58

I have to say. to wonder,

1:02:01

if you take a moth and ra,

1:02:03

what do you get? Well, apparently,

1:02:05

Geteperes was an early fan

1:02:08

of the kaiju Mothra. All

1:02:11

hail our insect queen! This

1:02:17

brings us to the end of the

1:02:19

story of Queen Geteperes. If

1:02:22

you would like to hear

1:02:24

the extended version, that is

1:02:26

available on patreon.com/Egypt podcast. If

1:02:29

you would like to see the treasures

1:02:31

of Geteperes themselves, you can find them

1:02:33

online. I will include links in the

1:02:36

episode description to the Boston Museum of

1:02:38

Fine Arts and websites where you can

1:02:40

see these treasures for yourself. Additionally,

1:02:43

I highly recommend the website

1:02:45

Digital Giza. This website

1:02:48

is run by Harvard University, and

1:02:50

they have compiled all of

1:02:53

the archaeological records, including notes,

1:02:55

photographs, maps and diagrams, and

1:02:58

all kinds of information about

1:03:00

excavations and archaeological work at

1:03:02

the Giza Plateau. The archive

1:03:05

stretches back more than a hundred

1:03:07

years. And if you

1:03:09

are interested in the monuments of

1:03:11

this sacred necropolis, the website Digital

1:03:13

Giza should be your first stop.

1:03:16

Once again, I will put the links in the

1:03:19

episode description if you would like to learn more.

1:03:22

The History of Egypt podcast is supported

1:03:24

by you, the listeners. In

1:03:26

particular, I want to extend

1:03:28

special thanks to the priests,

1:03:30

my top-tier backers on patreon.com.

1:03:33

The priests are responsible for maintaining

1:03:35

the cult of the great gods,

1:03:38

and they oversee the burials, like

1:03:40

the burial of Queen Geteperes. It

1:03:43

is thanks to their devotion and their

1:03:45

extreme generosity that I am able

1:03:47

to put as much time and effort as

1:03:49

I do into the podcast and its research.

1:03:52

I would like to thank Linda, Terry, TJ,

1:03:55

Jola, Mykost, Andy and Chelsea,

1:03:57

Evan, Kyle, and the team at the Giza

1:03:59

Plateau. Taylor, Nedden, Ashley and

1:04:02

Veronica. These

1:04:04

fine folks formed the priesthood in December

1:04:06

of 2023. Folks,

1:04:09

you are all too kind, and I

1:04:11

am forever in your debt. You