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Life in Relief: The Mastaba of Mereruka

Stepping into the Mastaba of Mereruka at Saqqara feels less like entering a tomb and more like walking into a living archive of the 6th Dynasty. For anyone interested in the relationship between environment, labour, and the human body, Mereruka’s monument is exceptionally rich. The complex contains over thirty chambers, with roughly eighteen decorated rooms, and each one contributes to a visual dataset of daily activity, resource management, and social identity.

Diet and the Marshlands

The reliefs provide a detailed look at the Old Kingdom food economy. Scenes of animal management, including the force feeding of hyenas and geese, appear alongside papyrus harvesting, fishing, and grain processing. They illustrate the labour systems and environmental conditions that shaped the nutritional landscape of the period.

Seshseshet Waatetkhethor

A dedicated suite of rooms belongs to Mereruka’s wife, Princess Seshseshet Waatetkhethor, daughter of King Teti. Her presence confirms the political and familial link between the vizierate and the royal household. The scenes in her chambers, which include music, cosmetics, pets, and domestic attendants, offer a rare gendered perspective on the lived environment of elite women in the late Old Kingdom.

Titles

Among Mereruka’s many titles, one is uniquely revealing. He held the title imy‑r geswy depet swnw per aa, which translates literally as overseer of the two sides of the boat of the doctors of the Great House. This title is rare and suggests responsibility for coordinating or supervising the royal medical corps, which was associated with the palace and its ritual and practical care.

What makes Mereruka’s mastaba so compelling today is not only its scale or its wealth. It is the depiction of bodies at work. Oarsmen strain, metalworkers lean into their craft, and agricultural labourers bend, lift, and haul. These scenes provide a baseline for understanding occupational stress, repetitive movement, and the physical demands placed on the people who sustained the Old Kingdom state.

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Nefertari: The Great Queen of Ancient Egypt

Firenze has long been one of the cities I love: its ambience, its colours, the quiet poetry of its streets. There’s a depth to its beauty that always stays with me, and this year, its timeless atmosphere provides the perfect backdrop to step back even further into the world of ancient Egypt.

On 14 March 2026, the city will welcome the premiere of Nefertari: The Great Queen of Ancient Egypt, at the Firenze Archaeological Film Festival.  This new documentary directed and produced by my friend Curtis Ryan Woodside brings Nefertari’s world to life with a fresh, detailed perspective exploring her political influence, her remarkable education, and the luminous artistry of her tomb.

The documentary features expert insight from Dr Zahi Hawass, one of the world’s leading Egyptologists, and from me, Sofia Aziz, as we explore not only Nefertari’s legacy but also what we can understand about her age at death and her health. Together, these perspectives offer a rich, layered portrait of Ramses ll’s most beloved queen.

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Vital Organs


This article presents my research into ancient Egyptian mummification, challenging long-standing assumptions about canopic jars and the role of the Sons of Horus. By re-examining nineteenth-century interpretations alongside textual evidence and modern CT imaging, I argue that these deities protected the entire body cavity rather than specific organs. The findings call for a reassessment of how the ancient Egyptians understood the body, preservation, and the afterlife. A huge thank you to Nile Magazine.

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International Lounge Podcast

I recently had the pleasure of joining International Lounge Podcast as a guest, alongside my friend filmmaker Curtis Ryan Woodside, for a fascinating conversation about one of ancient Egypt’s most controversial rulers, Pharaoh Akhenaten.

Together we explored not only his revolutionary vision and the glittering city he built at Amarna, but also the darker side of his reign– the suffering endured by those who laboured to create his utopian vision. Our discussion explores the contrast between Akhenaten’s radiant art and worship of the Aten, and the human cost behind his grand experiment.

Listen to the full episode here:

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The Missing Heart of Tutankhamun: Unravelling a Modern Mummification Myth

One claim regarding Tutankhamun continues to dominate the literature and media: his mummification was “unusual” because his heart was absent. The implication? That the heart was essential to remain in the body, and its absence suggests Tutankhamun died far from home. This theory, intrigued me enough to investigate its origins during my dissertation research.

I discovered that the notion of retaining the heart during embalming originates from Grafton Elliot Smith’s early 20th-century observations of heart preservation in some mummies from the Twenty-First Dynasty.

More recently, Wade and Nelson’s study challenged this assumption, showing that the heart was frequently absent and that heart amulets did not consistently accompany or symbolically replace it (Wade & Nelson, 2013: 4202).

My own analysis of 33 anthropogenic mummies yielded similar results. Heart retention was confirmed in only 21% of the subjects, while 9% had partial heart retention. In 28% the presence or absence of the heart was indeterminate due to obstructive packing material. Strikingly, 42% of the subjects exhibited no heart retention at all (Aziz, 2023: 37).

Crucially, I found there is a lack of textual evidence from ancient Egypt indicating that heart retention was a ritual necessity. Instead, the belief appears to be a modern construct, shaped by four key sources:

• Diodorus Siculus (c. 30–90 BCE): The Greek historian claimed embalmers removed all organs except the kidneys and heart. Yet he offered no rationale, and modern imaging has shown his account to be anatomically inaccurate.

• Grafton Elliot Smith (1906): Smith’s anatomical studies led him to generalise Diodorus’s claim across all dynasties. He wrote:“In all cases the heart is left in the thorax attached to the great blood vessels… This striking confirmation of the statement of Diodorus has not, so far as I am aware, been recognised hitherto.”

However, larger-scale studies have since disproven this generalisation.

• The Book of the Dead: Spell 30B, which implores the heart not to speak against the deceased, has been interpreted by some scholars as evidence that the heart needed to remain in the body for successful passage to the afterlife. Yet this is a symbolic reading, not a surgical prescription.

• Walker’s classification of ‘ib’ and ‘haty’: Walker distinguishes between ‘ib’ (psyche) and ‘haty’ (anatomical heart), but acknowledges their interchangeable use in Egyptian texts. Both terms appear in the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE) in contexts that blur anatomical and emotional meanings, reminding us that even today, the heart remains a metaphor for emotion and identity (Aziz, 2023: 16-19).

In short, the notion that the heart was ritually indispensable during mummification is not grounded in ancient Egyptian textual or archaeological evidence. It is a modern myth, stitched together from selective readings and retrospective interpretations. 

I was honoured to present my findings at the XI World Congress on Mummy Studies – Cusco 2025.

For an in-depth analysis, see my article “Vital Organs” in Nile Magazine or my book “The Human Brain in Ancient Egypt: A Medical and Historical Analysis of Its Function and Importance”

References

Aziz, S. (2023) The Human Brain in Ancient Egypt: A Medical and Historical Re-evaluation of Its Function and Importance, Archaeopress

Smith, G.E. (1906) Sous Les Auspices de Abbas II: A Contribution to the Study of Mummification in Egypt, With Special Reference to the Measure Adopted During the Time of the XXI Dynasty for Moulding the Form of the Body, Le Caire

Wade, A.D., Nelson, A.J. (2013) Evisceration and Excerebration in the Egyptian Mummification Tradition, Journal of Archaeological Science 40, Elsevier Ltd

Walker, J. (1993) Studies in Ancient Egyptian Anatomical Terminology, School of History, Philosophy and Politics, Macquarie University, N.S.W., Australia 

 

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Akhenaten’s Afterlife Documentary

I’m delighted to share that I took part in the new documentary Akhenaten’s Afterlife, produced by my talented friend Curtis Ryan Woodside.

When we think of ancient Egypt, we picture gold, glory and gods. But beneath the radiant sun of Akhenaten’s Amarna lay a very different reality, one carved not in stone but atop fragile bones.

This film peels back the glittering facade of the pharaoh’s “city of light” to reveal a civilisation crumbling under hunger, toil and disease. Excavations of Amarna’s pit-grave cemeteries tell the story of young labourers buried without honour, their bodies marked by brutal work, malnutrition and infection.

At the same time, Akhenaten was rewriting Egypt’s faith, turning away from the gods of his ancestors towards monolatry and devotion to a single deity: the Aten. In doing so, he made himself the only channel between heaven and earth. Was this the result of divine inspiration, political strategy or a troubled, extraordinary mind?

Through science and archaeology, this documentary exposes the haunting truth behind the utopia: a paradise built on human suffering, divine obsession and one of the first recorded instances of power fused with faith.

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11th World Congress on Mummy Studies – Cusco 2025

It was an honour to present my research on “The Function and Importance of the Human Brain in Ancient Egypt” at the 11th World Congress on Mummy Studies in Cusco, 2025 (Abstract Below).

Grateful to the organising committee in Peru for their dedication, hospitality and tireless work behind the scenes. Thank you for a truly inspiring conference.

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Upcoming Public Lecture

I’m delighted to share that I’ve been invited by the ‘Hapy Egyptology Society’ to give a public lecture on 7th June at 4:15 PM, at ‘The Cooper Gallery’.  

In this talk, I’ll present my research, which re-evaluates what ancient Egyptian physicians understood about the brain’s functions, offering fresh insights into their medical knowledge. I’ll also explore new perspectives on mummification methods and ancient Egyptian medicine, shedding light on their remarkable practices.  

I hope to see you there!

2025-03 The Human Brain in Ancient Egypt
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Egypt’s Unexplained Files

Catch Me Today on Egypt’s Unexplained Files on Sky History

This fascinating series delves into the mysteries of Ancient Egypt, combining cutting-edge science with historical expertise to uncover secrets hidden for millennia. From decoding ancient texts to exploring the lives of pharaohs, the show offers a captivating journey into one of history’s most intriguing civilisations.

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Discovery of the Tomb of Thutmose ll

I was absolutely thrilled to join Henry Bonsu on Times Radio to discuss the incredible discovery of the tomb of Thutmose II. It’s not every day that we get to talk about such a monumental find in the world of Egyptology! Following our conversation, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on the identification of the mummy believed to be Thutmose II, which was discovered in the Deir el-Bahri cache back in the 19th century. This mummy has long been a subject of fascination and debate, and with this new discovery, the story has taken an even more intriguing turn.

The Supreme Council of Egyptian Antiquities, Dr Litherland, his team, and all involved deserve immense congratulations for this extraordinary discovery. While this is not the first pharaoh’s tomb to be discovered since Tutankhamun’s in 1922, it is, without doubt, an incredible find. Prior to this discovery, other significant finds included the royal tombs of Tanis, which contained the burials of several kings from the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Dynasties.

The identification of the tomb as belonging to Thutmose II was first proposed by Dr Litherland in an article published in the EES magazine “Egyptian Archaeology” in 2023. The tomb, designated as C4, is located in a wadi known as ‘C,’ part of the remote ‘Western Wadis’ region, approximately 1.5 miles from the Valley of the Kings. The tomb has suffered significant damage from repeated flooding, leaving it in a poor state of preservation. The corridor’s floor was originally coated with white plaster, and while little decoration remains, a small section of a starry ceiling in blue and yellow —considered a hallmark of pharaonic tombs—has survived. Fragments of the Amduat, a central decorative feature in royal tombs of this period, have also been found.

The tomb is mostly empty but fragments of alabaster vessels inscribed with the name of Thutmose II and references to his Great Royal Wife (and half-sister), Hatshepsut, have been recovered. According to Dr Litherland, it appears that the tomb was severely damaged by flooding shortly after the death of Thutmose II, leading to the relocation of his burial.

Dr Litherland has also cast doubt on the identification of the mummy previously thought to belong to Thutmose II. The mummified human remains in question are that of a man aged around 30 years, which he considers too old to be Thutmose II. This discrepancy supports the theory that a second, intact tomb of Thutmose II may still be found. While there is some evidence suggesting Thutmose II may not have lived to 30, it is not entirely conclusive and still a matter of scholarly debate. Additionally, even if some mixing of materials in the Royal Cache occurred, in the case of Thutmose II, this appears highly unlikely, as the coffin and mummy were both labelled with identifying ‘dockets’ bearing his name.

Thutmose II himself remains largely obscure. Few monuments or inscriptions from his reign survive, and it is believed he ruled for only a short time. His historical significance is largely tied to his family: he was the son of Thutmose I, a prominent pharaoh who helped establish Egypt’s dominance in the early New Kingdom, and the father of Thutmose III, who became one of Egypt’s greatest warrior pharaohs. Thutmose II also married his half-sister, Hatshepsut, who later assumed the role of pharaoh during the early years of Thutmose III’s reign, adding another layer of intrigue to his legacy.

Anatomist Grafton Elliot Smith conducted extensive studies on royal mummies during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including those from the cache discovered at Deir el-Bahri. When the mummy believed to be Thutmose II was first examined, the arms were found crossed over the chest, and the ear orifices were plugged with resin balls, a practice also observed in other royal mummies of the period. As mentioned, the mummy was labelled with identifying dockets, further supporting its identification. In my opinion, the mummification techniques align with those used for other early 18th Dynasty royal family members, such as Thutmose I, Thutmose III, and KV60 mummy identified as Hatshepsut. These mummies, including the Younger Lady, Amenhotep I, and the Elder Lady, all did not undergo excerebration and had desiccated intact brains (see my book “The Human Brain in Ancient Egypt”, 2023). Recent CT scans conducted by Dr Hawass and his team also show methods that align with early 18th Dynasty mummification techniques. The mouth cavity and upper throat of Thutmose II’s mummy were found to contain linen packs treated with resin, and the torso was stuffed with both resin-treated and untreated linen. 

The mummy identified as his is now housed in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation. The possibility of a second tomb containing artefacts is so interesting.  Let’s see how this unfolds. 

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The Society for the Study of Ancient Egypt

I am delighted to announce that my next public lecture will be for the SSAE on October 12th.

In November 2022, we celebrated the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s 18th dynasty tomb. Howard Carter and his team unearthed a treasure trove, the likes of which the world had never seen. Due to the sheer volume of artefacts and the meticulous documentation efforts by Carter, the autopsy of Tutankhamun was not conducted until 1925. Over the years, Tutankhamun’s mummy has been examined on three additional occasions. What did the initial autopsy reveal? What insights have recent CT studies provided regarding Tutankhamun’s health, possible cause of death, and mummification techniques?

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Vital Organs: A Re-evaluation of Ancient Egyptian Mummification

My latest Article “Vital Organs” is Now Out in Nile Magazine! In this piece, I delve into the fascinating world of ancient Egyptian mummification, challenging some of the long-held beliefs about the process. What if some of what we thought we knew about mummification was wrong?

A huge thank you to editor Jeff Burzacott and the team at Nile! Please click on image below:

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A Medical & Historical Re-evaluation of Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology in Ancient Egypt

Join us in Manchester on the 15th May, 2024 at Hetherington’s Cafe Bar, 8 Pollard St, Manchester, M4 7AJ (7.30-10pm). I’ll be discussing my research on the “Importance and Function of the Human Brain in Ancient Egypt” for the Pint of Science Festival.

What understanding did the ancient Egyptians have of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology and did they really discard the brain during the mummification process? Come and find out!

For tickets please click below:

 

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NMEC CAIRO

Coffin of Nedjemankh who was a priest of the god “Heryshaf” at the city of Ahnas. His coffin is made of gilded cartonnage with inlaid eyes and is covered with scenes as well as funerary spells from the Book of the Dead. It dates to the Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BCE).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York repatriated the coffin to Egypt.

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The Human Brain in Ancient Egypt: A Medical and Historical Re-evaluation of Its Function and Importance

The Human Brain in Ancient Egypt provides a medical and historical re-evaluation of the function and importance of the human brain in ancient Egypt. The study evaluates whether treatment of the brain during anthropogenic mummification was linked to medical concepts of the brain. The notion that excerebration was carried out to rid the body of the brain continues to dominate the literature, and the assumption that the functions of the brain were assigned to the heart and therefore the brain was not needed in the afterlife persists. To assess the validity of these claims the study combines three investigations: a radiological survey of 33 subjects using the IMPACT mummy database to determine treatment of the cranium; an examination of the medical papyri for references to the human brain; and an inspection of the palaeopathological records to look for evidence of cranial injuries and ensuing medical treatments.

The results refute long held claims regarding the importance of the human brain in ancient Egypt. Many accepted facets of mummification can no longer hold up to scrutiny. Mummification served a religious ideology in which the deceased was transformed and preserved for eternity. Treatment of the brain was not determined to be significantly different from the visceral organs, and the notion that the brain was extracted because it served no purpose in the afterlife was found to be unsubstantiated.

 

I am honoured to receive a review of my publication from Dr Sanchez and Dr Meltzer, authors of the exceptional book: “The Edwin Smith Papyrus. Updated Translation of the Trauma Treatise and Modern Medical Commentaries” which was crucial in my research.

A huge thank you to Dr Sanchez for the following review:

“In this work you methodically and strongly and correctly refute the long-held misconception about lack of importance that the brain had for the Ancient Egyptians. Part of this problem has been the unrealistic assumption that our mature concepts of anatomy, physiology and neurology could be uncritically applied to a developing culture of 3000 years + ago. A great achievement of the Egyptian culture was the accumulation and transmission of knowledge that has led to our current  structuring of medicine as art and science. 

   In Chapter 5 you have captured the many clinical “pearls” that demonstrate the Ancient Egyptians’ association of craniocerebral trauma with related high cerebral functions of consciousness, speech, body motion. You have also singled out the very first description by the Ancient Egyptians of the human brain, the cerebrospinal fluid and their accurate physiopathological explanation of the symptom of meningismus. 

   The histological and molecular analysis of the contents of canopic jars and left over material from embalming caches is an absolute must to ascertain the presence of brain tissue. Perhaps a similar approach can involve studying cranial packing material.“

Gonzalo M. Sanchez M.D. Life Member American Association of Neurological Surgeons.