Were ancient Egyptian princesses restricted to the palace, or did some of them draw a bowstring alongside their brothers? A new study of six royal skeletons from the Dashur pyramid complex, published July 17 in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, argues that pronounced muscle attachments on the arms and shoulders of several Middle Kingdom princesses are consistent with habitual archery and weapons training.
The remains, all dating to the Late Middle Kingdom (approximately 1850-1700 BCE), were excavated by French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan in 1894-1895 and stored in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The study, led by Zeinab Hashesh of Beni-Suef University in Egypt, is among the first to apply modern bioarchaeological methods, including X-ray imaging and entheseal analysis, to this little-studied collection.
“We are not saying these women were warriors,” Hashesh said. “But the skeletal evidence suggests some of them engaged in physically demanding activities consistent with archery and weapons handling.”
The evidence cited
The team examined five princesses, Ita, Khenmet, Itaweret, Noub-Hotep, and an unidentified woman likely Princess Sathathormeryt, and one king, Hor. Skeletal completeness ranged from 22% to 58%; all skulls except King Hor’s had been separated historically and stored at the Cairo School of Medicine.
Princess Ita, who died between ages 28 and 34, showed pronounced entheseal changes, bone modifications at muscle and tendon attachment sites, on her right shoulder, arm, and hand muscles, consistent with habitual gripping of a dagger or mace. A dagger was found in her tomb.
Princess Noub-Hotep, who died between 40 and 44, had strongly developed forearms and right hand. De Morgan’s excavation notes describe finding “arrows with their barbs in an astonishing state of preservation” in her burial chamber.
Princess Itaweret, who died between 20 and 34, showed robust attachment sites around the shoulder and chest, along with healed rib fractures and healed stress fractures of the left foot.
The authors interpret the overall pattern, asymmetrical muscle development with right-side dominance, robust forearm and hand muscles, and strong shoulder attachments, as consistent with drawing a bowstring, gripping weapons, and possibly engaging in hunting or military training activities.
Critics urge caution
External experts interviewed by Live Science raised multiple concerns. Sonia Zakrzewski, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Southampton, noted that entheseal changes are not activity-specific: many factors, age, genetics, body size, and other repetitive movements, produce similar patterns. She also cautioned that weapons found in tombs “could have been used by individuals associated with the deceased,” not necessarily by the princesses themselves.
Scott Haddow, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Turin, pointed out that archery should produce strong asymmetry in muscle development, but several of the princesses showed bilateral robusticity, changes on both sides of the body. “Finding generalized, bilateral robusticity does not make a particularly strong case for these individuals practicing archery,” he said.
Sébastien Villotte of the French National Center for Scientific Research recommended a more robust approach: comparing these individuals to non-elite contemporaries from the same region and period, rather than relying on entheseal analysis alone.
The study also lacks a control group against which to determine whether the observed muscle attachment patterns are unusual. The sample size is small, six individuals, and the skeletons are fragmentary.
A broader pattern?
The study joins a growing debate about the roles of elite women in ancient societies. The presence of weapons in elite female tombs has long been dismissed as purely symbolic or ceremonial. But as bioarchaeological methods improve, the assumption is being tested, and occasionally overturned.
The Dashur princesses may be part of that re-evaluation, though the evidence remains contested. What is not disputed is the need to study these remains further. The team’s analysis of black resinous embalming material from seven bone samples using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed a consistent mixture of frankincense and Juniperus oxycedrus resin, evidence of standardized Middle Kingdom embalming practices that may tell their own story about royal burial traditions.
Sources
Hashesh Z, Gabr A, Walker R. “Bioarchaeological reassessment of Dahshur royal skeletal remains from the Late Middle Kingdom (c. 1850-1700 BCE).” Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology 5 (2026). DOI: 10.3389/fearc.2026.1844402
Live Science. “Did ancient Egyptian princesses use weapons? Controversial study claims they hunted or trained with the military.” July 2026. https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/ancient-egyptians/did-ancient-egyptian-princesses-use-weapons-controversial-study-claims-they-hunted-or-trained-with-the-military-but-not-all-experts-agree