The strange skeletons that could rewrite the history of the pyramids

Unexpected evidence found on human remains is shaking up our understanding of ancient burials

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For centuries, scientists believed that only the elite were buried in pyramids. But a surprising discovery of ancient skeletons has thrown that idea into question.

In a new study, researchers analysed the remains of people buried in Tombos, an archaeological site located in modern-day Sudan, which borders Egypt.

Around 3,500 years ago, the ancient town of Tombos sat along the Nile River in a region called Nubia. The region was conquered and ruled by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose I (whose reign was about 170 years before the infamous Tutankhamun’s).

Archaeologists analysed skeletons from several different burial sites at Tombos, looking for subtle marks where muscles and ligaments had been attached to the bones. These traces – called entheseal changes – can give → → archaeologists clues about how a person lived their life by the way it physically altered their bones.

“Entheseal changes can’t tell us exactly what these people were doing, but they can tell us if they were more physically active or more like couch potatoes,” Dr Sarah Schrader, associate professor of archaeology at Leiden University and the study’s lead author, told BBC Science Focus.

Some of the skeletons had very few marks, indicating that they lived more sedentary lives and were likely a part of the wealthy noble class. But others, buried in the same pyramids, had markings that suggested they were physically active, which, the researchers concluded, could indicate they were from the poorer labouring classes.