We finally know why Queen Hatshepsut's statues were destroyed in ancient Egypt
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For the past 100 years, Egyptologists thought that when the powerful female pharaoh Hatshepsut died, her nephew and successor went on a vendetta against her, purposefully smashing all her statues to erase her from public memory.
Now, a new study finds that's not quite the case. Although many statues of Hatshepsut were intentionally broken, the reason behind their destruction has nothing to do with her gender or even blotting out her existence, an Egyptologist says. Rather, Hatshepsut's statues were broken to "deactivate" them and eliminate their supposed supernatural powers, according to a study published Tuesday (June 24) in the journal Antiquity.
Hatshepsut (who ruled circa 1473 to 1458 B.C.) was a pharaoh known for commissioning a beautiful temple built at Deir el-Bahri, near ancient Thebes (modern-day Luxor), and for ordering a successful voyage from Egypt to a land known as "Punt," whose precise location is now a matter of debate. She was the wife and half sister of pharaoh Thutmose II (reign circa 1492 to 1479 B.C.) and was supposed to act as regent for her stepson Thutmose III. However, rather than serving as regent, she became a pharaoh in her own right, with Thutmose III acting as a co-regent who had limited power.
After Hatshepsut died, many of her statues were intentionally broken, including at the site of Deir el-Bahri, where archaeologists in the 1920s and 1930s found broken remains of her statues buried in pits. It was believed that these were broken on the orders of Thutmose III after Hatshepsut died, as a form of retribution. However, the new study suggests that these statues were in fact "ritually deactivated" in the same manner that statues belonging to other pharaohs were.
In the study, Jun Yi Wong, a doctoral candidate in Egyptology at the University of Toronto, examined archival records of the statues from Deir el-Bahri that were found in the 1920s and 1930s. Wong found that the statues were not smashed in the face and didn't have their inscriptions destroyed. Instead, they were broken at their neck, waist and feet — something seen in statues of other Egyptian pharaohs during a process that modern-day Egyptologists call "ritual deactivation."
The ancient Egyptians saw royal statues "as powerful and perhaps even living entities," Wong told Live Science in an email. When a pharaoh died, it was common for the ancient Egyptians to deactivate their statues by breaking them at their weak points, or the neck, waist and feet, Wong noted.
"Deposits of deactivated statues have been found at multiple sites in Egypt and Sudan," Wong said. "One of the best-known finds in the history of Egyptian archaeology is the Karnak Cachette, where hundreds of statues of pharaohs — from across centuries — were found in a single deposit. The vast majority of the statues have been 'deactivated.'"
Related: Why are the noses broken on so many ancient Egyptian statues?
This isn't to say that Hatshepsut wasn't a target of political persecution after her death. "There is no doubt that Hatshepsut did suffer a campaign of persecution — at many monuments throughout Egypt, her images and names have been systematically hacked out," Wong said. "We know that this campaign of persecution was initiated by Thutmose III, but we are not exactly sure why."
The fact that her statues at Deir el-Bahri were deactivated normally while images and inscriptions of her at other sites were violently attacked suggests that the persecution she experienced may not have been for personal reasons.
Statues of other pharaohs also underwent ritual deactivation, Wong wrote. The fact that the statues of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri were deactivated normally while statues of her at other sites were more violently attacked suggests that Thutmose III may have felt that he had to persecute Hatshepsut for political reasons, such as concerns about her reign from his supporters.
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"Early Egyptologists assumed that Thutmose III must have harboured intense hatred towards Hatshepsut, but this is unlikely to be accurate," Wong said. "The treatment of the statues, for example, suggests that Thutmose III was motivated by ritualistic and practical factors, rather than any personal animosity."
Thutmose III "would have been influenced by political considerations — such as whether Hatshepsut's reign was detrimental to his legacy as a pharaoh," Wong said.
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But in recent decades, new readings of the classical sources and some fascinating archaeological discoveries have overturned the stereotype of the Celts as primitive. New findings show that the Celtic culture was in fact a complex and refined civilization with various art styles, architecture, religious customs, technology, and social structures. In terms of urban planning and metallurgy, there were similarities with the Greco-Roman world. And like many other ancient peoples, the Celts had a culture that was both influenced and influential. The vast territories of Celtica, where the Celts lived, stretched from Ireland to the Balkans and into the Iberian Peninsula. The different Celtic groups were highly fragmented politically, and it's virtually certain they didn't consider themselves a single people, although there were common features. In fact, some scholars have debated the continued use of the term Celt, believing it might be insufficient in describing the diversity among these groups, especially over different time periods. Gauls, Celtiberians, Britons, and many others were included in this classification. (Cults, curses, and magic: This surprising European city has ancient links to Halloween) However, all the Celtic societies were hierarchical, with a ruling aristocratic minority. Most of the working majority were dedicated to agriculture, but there were also artists and merchants. Celtic nobles distinguished themselves by their military prowess. At first, in the Hallstatt culture, considered the proto-Celtic era, these nobles were also set apart by their access to luxury goods of Mediterranean origin that they obtained through trade. This is evidenced by treasures discovered in the royal tombs of Hochdorf and Hohmichele, two Hallstatt settlements. 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It was then that the Celts burst onto the scene in the written sources of the Greco-Roman world through their dazzling military expansion—often in conflicts against Rome. The most dramatic moments were the Sack of Rome by the Gauls (390 B.C.) and the attack on the famous Greek sanctuary of Delphi (279 B.C.). In addition to participating in such sacking expeditions, many Celtic warriors joined the Hellenistic armies of the time as mercenaries. An image of the Celts as ferocious barbarians was seared into the collective consciousness of the Greeks and Romans. During this period, the Celts were also engaged in full-scale migrations in which entire groups of families settled new territory. Celtic populations established themselves in areas of the Danube Valley, the northern Balkans, and even outside Europe, in the Anatolian Peninsula. There's clear evidence from this period to show that Celtic culture, like that in much of the ancient world, was based on honor and status. A key element was the establishment of relationships between a powerful individual, the patron, and an individual subordinate to him, the client. This unequal relationship implied obligations on both sides: While the patron granted his client protection and ceded land, the client pledged to obey the patron and serve in his army. These clientelistic networks allowed aristocrats to accumulate entourages of hundreds, even thousands, of followers. From the second century B.C. onward, the expansionist trend of the previous two centuries was reversed as the territories of Celtic Europe began to fall one after the other, subdued by the aggressive Roman Republic. The collapse started with the Celts of Hispania; only Ireland and Scotland escaped a Roman takeover. But it would be a mistake to interpret this final phase of Celtic civilization as a period of decline. On the contrary, a last burst of urban development occurred, and dozens of fortified urban centers, called oppida, were built. Atop Mount Ipf, around 100 miles northwest of Munich in southern Germany, the local Celtic community built an oppidum, a fortified enclave that flourished at the beginning of the La Tène period, in the fifth century B.C. This photograph shows the modern reconstruction of its walls. BERTHOLD STEINHILBER/LAIF/CORDON PRESS This urban growth was based on a strong development of economic activities, such as agriculture, handicraft production, and trade. The population was likely also growing at this time. Ongoing discoveries of artifacts has painted a more informative picture for scholars about Celtic culture and practices outside of the classical sources. Given this rich history, it's fascinating to wonder what would have happened to the Celtic civilization if Roman expansion hadn't stopped it in its tracks. The Celtic art of warfare From the fifth century B.C. onward, the dominant Celtic culture that archaeologists call Hallstatt evolved into the more aristocratic warrior society known as La Tène, heavily influenced by Greek and Etruscan styles. The weaponry of the Celtic warriors became established in this period: a double-edged iron sword, iron-tipped spears, and an oval wooden shield. Aristocratic warriors of the period also carried defensive equipment, such as helmets and armor. The warrior sculpture known as the Prince of Glauberg wears armor similar to the Greek linothorax, made of hardened linen or leather. The Prince of Glauberg wearing a crown of leaves, a necklace, a cuirass, a ring, two bracelets, a shield, and a sword. The figure, carved in sandstone, stands over six feet tall and weighs more than 500 pounds. It was found next to a burial mound from the fifth century B.C. Museum of the Celtic World, Glauberg, Germany. Iron helmet found in the tomb of a third-century B.C. chief in the Romanian necropolis of Ciumești. It's 16.5 inches tall and topped by a bronze bird of prey with movable wings. National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest. Battersea shield made of bronze. It's decorated with appliqués and red enamel inlays. It measures 30.7 inches high. Third to first century B.C. British Museum, London. Bronze carnyx, a wind instrument. Topped with a stylized boar's head, it stands almost six feet high and was found at Tintignac, France. INRAP, Paris. In the third century B.C., the first chain mail was developed, a Celtic innovation that the Romans would copy. Influenced by Mediterranean cultures, Celtic fighters evolved from warrior bands into armies. Their orders were produced by the war horns, or carnyxes, whose sound was intended to subdue the enemy. 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A parade of horsemen on the side of the Gundestrup Cauldron, a ceremonial vessel composed of 13 silver plates from the first century B.C. to the first century A.D. National Museum of Denmark. Copper-alloy mount evoking a horse's head. It was found with other pieces of chariot tack at Melsonby, England. British Museum, London. BRITISH MUSEUM/SCALA, FLORENCE In time, the Celts would become renowned as horsemen throughout the ancient world, especially among the Romans, who often employed them as mercenaries to bolster their mounted forces. In the Celtic world, the value of the horse was not limited to the pragmatic: It also held religious significance. The Gauls recognized a horse divinity called Epona, whose cult spread throughout the Roman Empire. The Irish Celts had a war goddess called Macha, who was linked with horses. Sculptural reliefs, including those found at the Celtic sanctuaries of Roquepertuse and Nages in southern Gaul, depict the horse as a psychopomp, responsible for leading the souls of the deceased into the afterlife. Bronze model of a cart. Found in Spain, it carries a horseman accompanied by a dog, hunting a wild boar. Second-century B.C. National Museum of Archaeology, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. For the Celts, hunting was not only a means of acquiring food but also an eminently aristocratic activity. It was often practiced on horseback and could be dangerous. Hunting thus represented excellent training for war as well as a chance for participants to show off. The most common quarry was wild boar, an animal that for the Celts symbolized both war and hospitality. Red deer, roe deer, and fallow deer were also hunted, in addition to foxes and wolves. Classical authors reported that trained hunting dogs were involved: According to the geographer Strabo, hunting dogs bred in Britain were exported to Rome. Jewelry in life and the afterlife As in most societies, the Celtic aristocracy used the ownership and display of jewelry to proclaim and advance their privileged position in the hierarchy. Among the Celts, the custom of burying the deceased with grave goods was widespread, and ornaments occupied a preferential place. Archaeologists have found a large number of luxury items, both personal jewelry and ornaments for horse harnesses, inside burials. These pieces were appreciated for their materials—precious metals including silver and gold—and for the excellence of the craftsmanship. One piece of jewelry most associated with the Celts is the torque. This type of necklace, which can take many different forms, was worn by other peoples as well, such as the Thracians and Scythians. Back of the bronze Desborough Mirror (13.8 inches long), decorated with continuous curvilinear forms drawn using a compass. British Museum, London. BRITISH MUSEUM/SCALA, FLORENCE Gold torque or necklace made of twisted wires, with solid ring-shaped finials decorated with reliefs. It was discovered in Snettisham, England. British Museum, London. The Roman army gave torques to reward their soldiers, although in this case they were not worn around the neck, but on the armor. The torque was a symbol of authority and prestige and was worn by members of the nobility. It also appears in representations of divinities. A clear example of this appears on the famous Gundestrup Cauldron, where the horned god Cernunnos tames a snake in one hand, while holding a torque in the other. Other types of grave goods typically found in aristocratic Celtic burials were phalerae (decorative disks for horses' harnesses), fibulae (pins for fastening clothes), and mirrors. Banqueting played a fundamental part in Celtic life; it enabled aristocratic guests and their followers to socialize, and aristocratic hosts to flaunt their wealth. The position occupied by participants and the amount of meat they received were determined by their social status. The banquet reinforced hierarchies while confirming and strengthening existing relationships. In return for the generosity of the hosts, the bards (poet-singers) would laud their virtues. Drinking horn decorated with embossed gold leaf and finished with a ram's head found in the Kleinaspergle burial mound. Fifth century B.C. Clay dish painted and incised with geometric motifs. From a burial mound in Gomadingen (Germany). Württemberg State Museum, Stuttgart. Irish literary sources explain that the banqueters faced each other in duels of eloquence in which they defended their respective merits. The champion received the best cut of the cooked animal, which was usually a pig. The Story of Mac Da Thó's Pig, a ninth-century Irish tale, is likely influenced by this older Celtic tradition. It describes a banquet between the men of Ulster and Connacht, who are competing for a prize, a colossal pig that has been fattened for seven years. Like the pig, the banquet contest is larger than life, involving a huge cast and spreading across large areas of Ireland. A banquet also had a clear symbolic meaning in Celtic beliefs: The inclusion of banquetware among grave goods reflects the idea that through funeral rites, the deceased was led to a supreme banquet in the company of heroes and gods. Druids, gods, and severed heads Throughout Europe, Celtic culture was expressed in worship of common gods. The name of the god Lugh or Lugus occurs across the Celtic world; he was of special importance in Irish mythology, and is commemorated in the names of the French city of Lyon and the Spanish city of Lugo. In other cases, equivalent divinities had different names, such as the Gallic god Sucellus and the Irish god Dagda, which were both connected with agriculture and forests. The religion of the Celts was polytheistic and centered on rituals. Classical sources refer to a priestly class in some territories of Celtic Europe, including Gaul and Britannia. These were the famous Druids, an intellectual elite that acted as a repository of tradition and as a a mediator between men and gods. Unluckily for historians, they distrusted written texts and relied on transmitting their knowledge orally. (Why do we know so little about the Druids?) Laminated bronze figure representing a warrior deity found in the area of Saint-Maur-en-Chaussée. First century, Museum of the Oise, Beauvais, France. The god Taranis wields a thunderbolt in his right hand and holds a wheel in his left. Bronze figurine. National Museum of Archaeology, Saint- Germain-en-Laye, France. Two-headed male sculpture, discovered in the Celtic sanctuary of Roquepertuse. Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology, Marseille, France. Archaeologists have located a large number of sites that were originally Druid sanctuaries, such as Gournay-sur-Aronde (France), Emain Macha (Northern Ireland), and Libenice (Czech Republic), piecing together the rituals that took place there from the archaeological finds. These rituals involved sacrificing animals (and in some cases, humans) and exhibiting spoils, such as weapons or severed heads. The decapitation of enemies and the exhibition of skulls are rituals attested to in many places in Celtic Europe. Divinity of Bouray-sur-Juine with eyes inlaid with white and blue enamel was found in its namesake village in France. First to second centuries B.C. National Museum of Archaeology, Saint- Germain-en-Laye, France. One of the most controversial questions related to the Celtic priestly class, the Druids, is whether or not they believed in reincarnation and the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, as some classical authors claimed. Irish and Welsh mythology seems to suggest that the Celts of these territories didn't believe in reincarnation, though they did believe in the immortality of souls. First-century Roman historian Valerius Maximus notes that some Celts, so certain they will see each other again after death, arrange to repay debts in the world to come. This story appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of National Geographic History magazine.
