«New Discovery Confirms Grizzly Ancient Practice
▪ At the ancient site of Avaris (Tel al-Dabaa) in the province of Sharqiya, Lower Egypt, there has been a shocking discovery; 16 severed right hands have been found in four pits directly next to an ancient throne room.
▪ This discovery is both shocking and a confirmation of an ancient practice previously known only from temple reliefs and rare texts. It would seem we finally have direct evidence of this gruesome ancient practice of presenting the king the severed right hand of an enemy in exchange for gold.
▪ Both the Egyptians and the Hyksos people are documented to have practiced this custom. This practice would have made counting victims easier, but also served as a symbolic representation of permanently taking away the enemy's strength.
▪ A text found within the Egyptian tomb of Ahmose, son of Ibana, at Elkab describes how after each battle against the Hyksos at Avaris and Sharuhen, the Egyptian soldier would present a severed right hand of an enemy as a trophy and was rewarded the “gold of valor.” We also see reliefs within the Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu depicting severed right hands being counted and piled up. This recent find appears to match up nicely with the evidence from texts and relief carvings, confirming this practice.
▪ No such custom is known in northern Canaan; the Hyksos are thought to have come from northern Canaan, after arriving in the Nile Delta they controlled part of Egypt and made their capital at Avaris. It would appear that the practice was native to Egypt and adopted by the Hyksos.
▪ It is not for certain, but these severed right hands are believed to have been buried during the reign of a Hyksos ruler named King Khayan.»
Uma prática arrepiante...mas comum para uma época em que a crueldade era a norma, não a exceção. Um pouco à semelhança das comunidades nativas norte americanas que adotaram esse costume de escalpar o couro cabeludo de prisioneiros como troféu. E muitas outras culturas pelo Velho Mundo também parecem ter feito o mesmo.
ResponderEliminarDe facto, já se sabia, por vários relevos murais (como o que aqui se mostra reproduzindo uma cena do templo de Medinet Habu), que ao inimigo morto era cortada a mão direita para efeitos de contabilidade e para que o militar egípcio pudesse apresentar a sua prova de vitória e, na sequência, ser «condecorado» com ouro (o ouro do valor, ou colares com moscas de ouro).
ResponderEliminarUma das imagens mais expressivas é a que foi gravada no templo funerário de Ramsés III, em Medinet Habu, onde se pode observar os escribas militares a empilhar milhares de mãos direitas dos inimigos mortos e também os seus falos.
Poderá, talvez, ser um ritual que demonstra alguma crueldade, mas a verdade é que os inimigos já estavam mortos quando lhes eram cortadas as mãos e os falos - ou seja, eles chegavam ao outro mundo incompletos.