Archer's wrist guard

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The archer’s wrist guard was found in a mass grave of at least fifty-nine soldiers. Buried with the individuals were small pieces of military equipment such as bows and arrows, and this wrist guard still tied around the wrist of one man. The bodies showed evidence of violence, and from their wounds it was apparent that they died on the battlefield. The excavator believed that these "slain soldiers" were connected with a specific historical event that lead to the reunification of Egypt under Mentuhotep II, but reevaluation of the evidence does not support this theory. On the corners of their linen wrapping sheets were inscriptions, some with names that were only popular later, in early Dynasty 12. Moreover, the paleography of the inscriptions and the type of wrist guard found with the soldiers also point to an early 12th dynasty date, which can perhaps be narrowed down to the reign of Senwosret I (the second king of Dynasty 12).

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art