Meret-Neith (or Merytneit) was a ruling queen of the First Dynasty of Egypt about 5,000 years ago. She and her predecessor, Neithotep, are the first known pharaohs in history. But while Neithotep only acted as regent of her son Dyer until he was old enough to administer her empire, Meret-Neith served as full sovereign until she succeeded him. she.
She had her own large tomb in the cemetery of the kings of Abydos, one of the most influential cities in Upper Egypt, and is mentioned in the list of seals in the necropolis, between the pharaohs Narmer and Den. Furthermore, her name appears on a Saqqara seal inside the serek, as was done then with the men who were kings.
A team of German-Austrian archaeologists is precisely investigating the tomb of Meret-Neith, the most powerful woman on the planet in the period around 3000 BC. And the latest excavations demonstrate its special importance. Researchers found wine and other grave goods, which fuels the hypothesis that she was the first pharaoh.
The archaeologists, led by Dr Cristiana Köhler of the University of Vienna, found evidence of a large number of funerary utensils, including hundreds of large wine jars. Some of them were very well preserved and were even still sealed in their original state.
The vessels contained remains of 5,000-year-old wine. Furthermore, inscriptions attest that Queen Meret-Neith was responsible for central government offices such as the treasury, supporting the idea of her special historical importance.
The monumental tomb complex of the first ruling queen in the Abydos desert, which includes the graves of 41 courtiers and servants as well as her own burial chamber, was built from unbaked mud bricks, clay and wood. Thanks to careful excavation methods and various new technologies, the team was able to demonstrate that the tombs were built in several phases and over a relatively long period of time.
This evidence, along with other evidence found, would “radically” challenge the idea that ritual human sacrifice existed as part of royal burial in the 1st Dynasty, which was often assumed in early research but never really proven.
In addition to numerous container fragments, the largest proportion of the funerary contents of the cemetery of the kings of Abydos were ceramic vessels, used as containers for various stored products. There was not only wine, but also beer and oil.
