nubian pyramids egypt
© Felix Friebe/stock.adobe.comNubian pyramids in the Sudan. 3 Nubian pyramids in the Sudan. “If these hard-working individuals are indeed of lower socioeconomic status, this counters the traditional narrative that the elite were exclusively buried in monumental tombs,” concluded the team.
'Counters the traditional narrative'

"Pyramid schemes" aren't just for the wealthy.

Archaeologists have long theorized that Egyptian pyramid tombs were reserved for the elite. However, analysis of skeletons belonging to "extremely active" people might prove that they were dead wrong — and that poor physical laborers could've been interred there as well.

These findings, which were published in the Journal Of Anthropological Anthropology, could reshape how we view these ancient mausoleums.

"I think we have assumed for far too long that pyramids were just for the rich," declared study author Sara Schrader, an archaeology professor at the University Of Leiden, Netherlands, according to New Scientist.

tombos pyramids excavation sudan
© Daily MailTombos archaeological site
She worked for over a decade at the Tombos excavation site in South Sudan where archaeologists discovered at least five mud-brick pyramids containing pottery along with the aforementioned human remains.

This region was under Egyptian control 3,500 years ago when the civilization was at its zenith, but by this time, their aristocracy no longer favored pyramids as postmortem quarters — even though the Egyptian nobles still preferred them.

Schrader and her colleagues analyzed the remains at each pyramid, specifically focusing on subtle marks on the bones where muscles, tendons and ligaments were once attached so they could determine the level of physical activity.
tombos pyramids excavation sudan
© Journal of Anthropological ArchaeologyA diagram of the pyramids at the excavation site in Tombos, Sudan, which was under Egyptian control at the time.
The team noted that some remains belong to people who had done very little physical activity during their lifetimes while others had been very active.

From this, the team deduced that "pyramid tombs, once thought to be the final resting place of the most elite, may have also included low-status high-labor staff," per the study.

They were operating under the theory that the low-activity individuals must have lived luxury while those with signs of wear and tear had a grueling life of labor, the Daily Mail reported.

"If these hard-working individuals are indeed of lower socioeconomic status, this counters the traditional narrative that the elite were exclusively buried in monumental tombs," concluded the team.
tombos pyramids excavation sudan
© Journal of Anthropological ArchaeologyAnalysis of the remains at Tombos (pictured in this illustration) indicates varying levels of physical activity among the descendants.
They suggested that the higher-ranking individuals had specifically commissioned these pyramids for "themselves, close family members, and servants/functionaries," perhaps under the belief that the latter could continue to serve the former in the afterlife.

Of course, some experts have floated alternate theories for the mixed-class burial. UK Egyptologist Aidan Dodson suggested that the high-activity individuals could have been nobles who exercised to maintain their status.
tombos pyramids excavation sudan
© Journal of Anthropological ArchaeologyAt Tombos' Western Cemetery, the largest tombs had shafts leading to underground complexes that were quite deep (23 feet) and suffered due to moisture and chamber collapse
However, Schrader deemed this explanation suspect given the abundant evidence from other sites indicating that elites and non-elites had differing activity patterns.

She also threw cold water on a more sinister theory behind the postmortem status mingling.

"[Human] sacrifice had occurred in the region about 500 years prior," she said, before noting that "there's really no evidence for it by the time "Tombos was under ancient Egyptian control."

Ultimately, the team concluded that digging deeper always brings the truth to light.

"With continued excavations, dating, and biomolecular analysis, interpretations of lived experience in the past can be completely altered," they wrote.