Listener Q&A
Listener Question: Were Magicians Really
Important in Ancient Egypt?
A friend of mine
recently said that the magicians of Pharaoh's court
in the Exodus story are just a literary device to
make Moses and Aaron look good. What do I say to my
friend?
Tsiyon Answer: You might tell your friend
that the Exodus story is real history, and as such
it portrays ancient Egypt very accurately. Magicians
were of high status in ancient Egypt, just as the
Exodus story suggests. For example, see the news
article confirming this by a recent find of an
ancient Egyptian tomb of a "Priest of Magic"
reprinted below.
By
Sarah Griffiths, MailOnline
|
A
'huge' limestone tomb belonging to an important
Egyptian physician has been discovered.
Archaeologists at Abusir Archaeological Cemetery at
Giza have unearthed the final resting place of
The
generous size of the tomb, which is 69 by 45 feet
long and 13 feet high, indicates the importance of
the ancient medical professional, who was Head of
Physicians of Upper and Lower Egypt in the Fifth
Dynasty of the Old Kingdom.
Archaeologists at Abusir Archaeological Cemetery
at Giza have unearthed the final resting place
of Shepseskaf 'ankh that has been undiscovered
for 4,500 years. The generous size of the tomb
indicates the importance of the ancient medical
professional.
Vice
head of the Ancient Egyptian sector, Ali ALasfar,
said a large door covered in hieroglyphs revealed
that its occupant is the 'Priest of Khnum,' or
'Priest of Magic'.
The false door with the name, title and images of
its owner is located inside a chapel where the tomb
itself was found,
Fox News reported.
The
door in the eastern part of the tomb also says that
the medicine man was one of the most important royal
physicians in Ancient Egypt at the time.
The large door covered in
hieroglyphs and Images of Shepseskaf 'ankh
himself
It is
the third tomb of a physician discovered in Abusir
Cemetery, which is an enormous necropolis close to
modern Cairo and served as an elite burial place for
the Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis.
Antiquities Minister Ibrahim Ali, said: 'This
discovery is important because this is the tomb of
one of the greatest doctors from the time of the
pyramid builders; one of the doctors closely tied to
the king.'
The necropolis where the tomb was found is part of a
vast pyramid field that stretches from north Giza to
Saqqara and was designed to supplement Giza, which
was already filled up with funeral monuments of the
5th Dynasty pharaohs,
Heritage Daily
reported.
The
physician's tomb makes up part of a 21 by 14 metre
plot surrounded by walls four metres tall that is
thought to belong to a family.
The
archaeologists must have been relieved to find the
tomb and highly-carved door intact, as parts of the
site, along with Saqqara and Dahshur was damaged by
looters during the Egyptian protests in 2011.
Ancient Egyptian physicians used numerous methods to
heal patients but many of their techniques were also
based on religious beliefs and most physicians were
also priests.
It was
common for different priests to act as specialist
medics, as they believed that different gods
governed different parts of the human body.
Much
of what is known about the priests and doctors comes
from ancient papyrus manuscripts that reveal the
cures they used as well as how they performed
operations and used surgical implements to remove
cysts and tumours.
Some
of the 'cures' composed of 600 drugs and 800
procedures, developed by the ancient physicians -
such as applying direct pressure to cuts - are still
used today.
It is
the third tomb of a physician discovered in Abusir
Cemetery (excavations are pictured, which is an
enormous necropolis close to modern Cairo and served
as one of the most elite burial places for the
Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis.
Secret tomb
belonging to an Ancient Egyptian 'Priest of Magic'
discovered 4,500 years after it was sealed off from
the world
Shepseskaf ‘ankh that has been undisturbed for 4,500
years.
