Head cones unearthed in ancient Egyptian graves

PanARMENIAN.Net - In ancient Egyptian art, people often can be seen sporting cones on their heads.

Now, for the first time, archaeologists have revealed evidence that they actually existed outside of artwork.

Two head cones made of wax and fabric have been uncovered in graves in Amarna, a city built by the pharaoh Akhenaten and inhabited for some 15 years ending in 1332 BC, according to findings published Tuesday in the journal Antiquity. The city is home to thousands of graves, including those of ordinary people.

The discovery sheds some light on why Egyptians wore the cones on their heads, and researchers' conclusions differ from a long-held theory that the cones were made from animal fat. Meanwhile, some experts have held that the head cones were merely artistic additions, like the symbolic halos in Christian iconography, rather than real headgear.

"The excavation of two cones 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," the researchers said.