New discovery of Egyptian pyramids makes this ancient civilization even more mysterious!

Scientists have discovered fascinating skeletons hidden deep inside a pyramid in Egypt, and this could completely change the way we understand these great structures.
Traditionally, being buried in a pyramid was thought to be a privilege reserved for the wealthy. But the skeletons found at Tombos tell a different story. They bear the marks of people who did hard labor, not the luxurious life of royalty. They were ordinary, lower-class workers who lived hard lives, but were buried alongside the nobility in the pyramids. “We used to think that pyramid tombs were reserved for the most privileged, but now it seems that even ordinary workers were present,” say experts. They also found that the tombs contained both sedentary and very active people, creating a diverse picture of life at that time.
The discovery could lead to a rethinking of the entire history of Egyptian pyramids. Tombos, where the skeletons were found, is an archaeological site near the Nile River, located in modern-day Sudan, close to the border with Egypt. It was an important center after the Egyptians conquered Nubia around 1500 BC. The population of Tombos included laborers, craftsmen, and literate people. At least five mud-brick pyramids have been found in Tombos, containing human remains along with pottery such as jars and vases. The largest pyramid belonged to Siamun, the sixth pharaoh of Egypt’s 21st dynasty (1077–943 BC). The tomb contained a large courtyard chapel, decorated with small clay cones used in rituals.
Archaeologist Sarah Schrader from Leiden University has carefully studied the traces on the bones – the places where muscles, tendons, and ligaments used to be attached. The strange thing is that some people were sedentary, but others were very hard-working all their lives. From that, they guessed that the sedentary people were aristocrats who lived a happy life, while the active people were ordinary workers.
Experts believe that the Egyptian elite lived a very different lifestyle from ordinary people, so looking at the bones, they can immediately distinguish. It is possible that the ancients believed that burying workers with their masters would help them continue to serve in the afterlife. They also dismissed the idea that this was a sacrificial practice, because there is no evidence of this during the time of Tombos in Egypt.

The study, published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, shatters a long-held belief in Egyptology. “If these hard-working people were indeed lower-class, it would contradict the idea that only the elite were buried in grand tombs,” the team concluded. They suggest that the pyramids were not built by workers for themselves, but by noble figures like Siamun for themselves, their families, and even their servants.

Scientists believe that further excavation and study could shed more light on ancient life. Although pyramids are often associated with Egypt, there were around 80 pyramids in the Kingdom of Kush (modern-day Sudan). In modern-day Egypt, the majority of pyramids are tombs for pharaohs and queens from the Old and Middle Kingdoms.
The most famous pyramids in Egypt are the majestic Great Pyramid of Giza and the Step Pyramid of Djoser. Giza is the largest, while Djoser is the oldest, built between 2667 and 2648 BC. The Pyramid of Djoser is nearly 60 meters high, considered the first pyramid in Egypt and the oldest stone structure in the world. It was built entirely of stone by Imhotep in the Saqqara necropolis as a resting place for King Djoser, founder of the Old Kingdom during the Third Dynasty. The Pyramid of Djoser consists of six stacked mastabas, which served as the model for all later pyramids in Egypt. Djoser is said to have reigned for nearly 20 years. The tomb was damaged by an earthquake in 1992, and restoration work began in 2006 but was interrupted after the 2011 revolution. Work picked up in 2013 and it is now open to visitors again after a long closure for safety reasons since the 1930s.