The Mystery of Queen Hatshepsut

The Mystery of Queen Hatshepsut

Throughout history we are presented with a variety of mysteries or strange phenomena that challenge our beliefs in certain things. One such mystery that has baffled Egyptologists for centuries, is the death and burial of Queen Hatshepsut. As with many pharaohs of ancient Egypt, we are not entirely certain when Hatshepsut rose to the throne, though her death is documented. Most ancient authors write that her reign lasted approximately twenty-two years, which is the number of years that Manetho, a third-century historian determined. Her death is recorded on a stele, which Joyce Tyldesley describes in her Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt, as “Year 22, II Peret day 10”, or “January 16, 1458 BCE” (Tyldesley, 2006). The truly intriguing part of Hatshepsut’s death though, is trying to determine what happened to her body.

Hatshepsut was succeeded by Thutmose III, and his son, Amenhotep II, after his. Amenhotep is believed to have carried forward what his father started – removing all references and evidence of Hatshepsut. Alan Gardiner puts forward a theory that states Thutmose III and Amenhotep II removed all references of her to further their own familial lines, particularly Amenhotep II who did not have much favor in the royal family. Gardiner also states that it could be possible that Thutmose III started the erasure of her history and reign in revenge for being an “unwilling co-regent” (Gardiner, 1964).

There is another theory, put forth by Joyce Tyldesley, which states that the reason for Thutmose III to begin effacing statues and cartouches was simply because she was a woman! Tyldesley writes, in another work about Hatshepsut titled, Hatshepsut: The Female Pharaoh, that these events could be due to an “unconventional female king whose reign might possibly be interpreted as a grave offense against Ma’at and could cast serious doubt upon the legitimacy of his own right to rule. Hatshepsut’s crime need not be anything...