Mummy Found With Strange 'Clothing' Is Rewriting The History Of Ancient Egypt

There’s something that draws people to Egyptian history. Whether it’s the hieroglyphics, the pyramids, or the fact that cats were worshipped, there’s clearly major interest in this ancient civilization. And that’s obviously pushed archaeologists to uncover as much as they can about Egypt’s past, including its death-based practices. With that in mind, we’re talking about mummies here. A team recently found a mummy that could change our understanding of Egyptian history. This is the story of Khuwy’s discovery.

Khuwy’s tomb

Khuwy was an Egyptian nobleman who lived about 4,000 years ago during the Old Kingdom era. This section of Egyptian history is known for the rise of pyramid building, a practice which started with King Djoser. To prepare for his death, he hired the architect Imhotep for an important purpose.

The first of many

Imhotep took the king’s assignment very seriously and returned with the design of an enormous building suitable for an Egyptian royal’s resting place. What the architect didn’t realize, though, was how big an impact his work would go on to have. On the king’s orders, Imhotep had designed the Step-Pyramid at Saqqara.

Pyramid party

After Imhotep’s Step-Pyramid, Egypt’s ruling class wanted more funerary monuments — so designers and builders got busy. This led to, among other things, the creation of the Great Pyramid at Giza. A Greek historian by the name of Herodotus believed the construction must have taken around 20 years and the work of some 100,000 individuals.

Saqqara necropolis

During this time of building beautiful graves for their rulers, the Old Kingdom became dotted with pyramids. This included an entire compound outside of Cairo, which was the Saqqara necropolis. It was within this very complex that Khuwy was laid to rest. His tomb was filled with ceramics and specially painted wall designs.