Curious head cones in ancient Egyptian art were real hats: Study

A new study called 'representation to reality: ancient Egyptian wax head cones from Amarna' reveals that the cone-shaped artefacts that have baffled the archaeologists were real hats made out of wax. According to the study, the archaeologists were able to discover two such cones made out of wax on the heads of skeletons which dated back to 3,300 years. 

Head Cones in ancient Egypt

The research paper wrote that “The excavation of two cones from the Amarna cemeteries confirms that three-dimensional, wax-based head cones were sometimes worn by the dead in ancient Egypt and that access to these objects was not restricted to the upper elite," It further said that “The Amarna discovery supports the idea that head cones were also worn by the living, although it remains difficult to ascertain how often and why."

READ:  Egyptian Whistleblower Gets 5-year Jail Sentence In Absentia

The cones caps discovered at the city of Akhetaten were usually worn by guests at the banquet or by the owners of the tombs who used to perform funerary rituals or when they were rewarded by the king. People who used to go fishing and hunting also wore the caps in the afterlife. According to the archaeologists, the cap has a certain significance which symbolises with childbirth, fertility and healing. The caps which were discovered were found on the skeletons which belong to Akhetaten woman aged 29 and another whose sex was not determined. 

READ: Traders Import Onion From Turkey, Egypt To Deal With Domestic Shortage

The mummy of the woman was excavated in 2010, was in good condition and she has retained her hair and the cane cap which helped the archaeologists in its investigation. There are several hypotheses established by the archaeologist, one which says that the cones were not just meant for nobility or elite class and but for everyone. "In the case of ancient Akhetaten, we can probably interpret head cones as part of a suite of personal accoutrements deemed appropriate for use in a range of celebrations and rituals for, and involving, the living, the dead, the Aten and other deities."

READ: Three 3,500-year-old Painted Wooden Coffins Discovered In The Egyptian City Of Luxor

The researcher said on the fabric that, "There is no reason to assume .. that hollow - or perhaps textile-lined/-stuffed - cones of wax were not also worn in life. Even if scented, they may not have been intended to melt en masse and moisturise, serving more to mark the wearer as someone who was in a purified, protected or otherwise 'special' state". 

READ: Egyptian Government Seeks To Do Away With Popular Tuk-tuks