Disturbing truth behind 12 mysterious mutilated human hands found in ancient Egyptian burial pits after 3,500 years

THE truth behind 12 mutilated hands found in Ancient Egyptian burial pits has been revealed - and the explanation is drenched in blood.

Scientists have found evidence the body parts are linked to a violent ritual called the "gold of honour" - carried out for a prestigious reward.

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It turns out the hands were presented to Pharaohs by Egyptian warriors who had severed them from their enemies.

This was done for a collar of gold beads.

Experts say that the severing was done very carefully, as there was no signs of rough cutting.

French anthropologist Doctor Isabelle Crevecoeur said: "It's delicate work. That, for me, is a good argument they did it for a ritual."

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The hands were compared to trophies, the team behind the discovery revealed: "After removing any attached forearm parts, the hands were placed in the ground with wide-splayed fingers, mainly on their palmar sides."

Extensive research was carried out to determine the age and sex of who the 12 hands belonged to.

As male index fingers are known to be longer than their ring fingers, as compared to women's fingers, 11 of the hands were determined to be male.

It could not be ruled out that the twelfth hand was that of a female, the researchers said.

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A brief history of Ancient Egypt

Here's everything you need to know...

• The Ancient Egyptians were an advanced civilisation who at one point ruled over a huge portion of the globe
• The civilisation was founded about 5,000 years ago when ancient people set up villages along the River Nile
• It lasted for about 3,000 years and saw the building of complex cities centuries ahead of their time – as well as the famous Great Pyramids
• The Ancient Egyptians were experts at farming and construction
• They invented a solar calendar, and one of the world's earliest writing systems: The hieroglyph
• The Egyptians were ruled by kings and queens called pharaohs
• Religion and the afterlife were a huge part of Ancient Egyptian culture. They had over 2,000 gods
• Pharaohs built huge elaborate tombs to be buried in, some of which were pyramids – at the time among the largest structures in the world
• The Egyptians believed in life after death, and important people's corpses were mummified to preserve their bodies for the afterlife
• The Ancient Egyptian empire fell in 30BC due to a mix of factors, including wars with other empires and a 100-year period of drought and starvation

They estimated a minimum age at time of each hand's dismemberment to be somewhere between 14 to 21 years, as the bones were fully formed and post adolescent.

The upper age range was estimated to be under 60, as the hands show no signs of age-related degeneration. 

It is still unclear if the hands were taken from living or dead inviduvals, the team explained.

They clarified that they: "Must have been soft and flexible when they were placed into the pit."

This would have been before rigor mortis set in, therefore the person could have been alive when their hand was removed.

The most likely scenario is they were placed into the pit somewhere between 24 and 48 hours after being removed from the rest of the body. 

THE ANICENT HYKSOS PEOPLE

The find suggests that the ritual which involved presenting Pharaohs with them was actually practised a century earlier than first thought.

They believe that the tomb inscriptions present at the site date back to 1550-1077BC.

But the hands suggest the ritual may have been practiced before then, as they were found at the Hyksos palace.

This was the seat of power for Egypt's 15th Dynasty (1640–1530 BC).

It was hypothesized that the ancient Hyksos people had 'recurring propagandist motives' for placing the severed hands where they were discovered.

The Hyksos, who ruled Egypt for roughly a century, likely arrived from the eastern Mediterranean.

In the written study, the scientists urged caution, saying that we cannot put our ideas of what the period was like that do not realistically capture the truth.

It reads: "Much information on the lives, habits, and history of the Ancient Egyptians is depicted on temple and tomb walls, as well as recorded on papyri, etc.

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"Like today, information can create certain ideas, exert political influence, and also present facts in a different and not necessarily realistic light.

"Unfortunately, in history and even more so in prehistory, we are limited to a few sources, sometimes only to one."

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