Did ancient Egypt suffer from climate change?

By Thomas Page, for CNN
3 minute read
Updated 6:53 AM EST, Mon February 1, 2016
The recent discovery of Khentkaus III's tomb in Abusair, Egypt, fills in a "black patch" in the history of the Old Kingdom, according to dig leader Professor Miroslav Barta. Located a few 100 feet from the unfinished tomb of her husband, Pharaoh Neferefre (also known as Reneferef), her tomb is one of several significant historical finds in the country in recent months.
The recent discovery of Khentkaus III's tomb in Abusair, Egypt, fills in a "black patch" in the history of the Old Kingdom, according to dig leader Professor Miroslav Barta. Located a few 100 feet from the unfinished tomb of her husband, Pharaoh Neferefre (also known as Reneferef), her tomb is one of several significant historical finds in the country in recent months.
courtesy Czech Institute of Egyptology
Egyptologists are optimistic that a second chamber may soon be found behind King Tutankhamun's tomb, based on results of scans from the Valley of the Kings. One archaeologist has speculated that if the second chamber exists, it could be Queen Nefertiti's long-lost burial place.
Egyptologists are optimistic that a second chamber may soon be found behind King Tutankhamun's tomb, based on results of scans from the Valley of the Kings. One archaeologist has speculated that if the second chamber exists, it could be Queen Nefertiti's long-lost burial place.
A female mummy discovered in 1898 in tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings, and dubbed 'The Younger Lady' has been speculated to be Nefertiti. DNA tests in 2008 showed she was not only King Tutankhamun's mother, but also his aunt (she was sister to his father Akhenaten). Many Egyptologists say this DNA evidence means it's unlikely the remains are those of Nefertiti.
A female mummy discovered in 1898 in tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings, and dubbed 'The Younger Lady' has been speculated to be Nefertiti. DNA tests in 2008 showed she was not only King Tutankhamun's mother, but also his aunt (she was sister to his father Akhenaten). Many Egyptologists say this DNA evidence means it's unlikely the remains are those of Nefertiti.
Discovery Channel/Getty Images
The African continent has been home to many historic finds over the years. Last June, archaeologists and divers found the remains of an 18th century Portuguese slave ship off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. The ship is believed to have been on its way from Mozambique to Brazil in 1794. These copper fastenings and copper sheathing were also uncovered.
The African continent has been home to many historic finds over the years. Last June, archaeologists and divers found the remains of an 18th century Portuguese slave ship off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. The ship is believed to have been on its way from Mozambique to Brazil in 1794. These copper fastenings and copper sheathing were also uncovered.
Iziko Museums of South Africa
Africa has long been a treasure trove of ancient remains. Last year, the 2,000-year old remains of a sleeping woman, dubbed 'sleeping beauty', were found in Ethiopia in the former biblical kingdom of Aksum.
Africa has long been a treasure trove of ancient remains. Last year, the 2,000-year old remains of a sleeping woman, dubbed 'sleeping beauty', were found in Ethiopia in the former biblical kingdom of Aksum.
Graeme Laidlaw/Courtesy Louise Schofield
The Pyramid fields from Giza to Dahshur, including the majestic Great Sphinx, were part of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world in Hellenistic times, there remains the only inscription on the original list still in existence.
The Pyramid fields from Giza to Dahshur, including the majestic Great Sphinx, were part of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world in Hellenistic times, there remains the only inscription on the original list still in existence.
Jake Haggmark
According to a paper published last May by the science journal Nature, the oldest stone tools made by our human ancestors were discovered in northwestern Kenya and date back 3.3 million years -- about 700,000 years before the oldest tools previously unearthed.
According to a paper published last May by the science journal Nature, the oldest stone tools made by our human ancestors were discovered in northwestern Kenya and date back 3.3 million years -- about 700,000 years before the oldest tools previously unearthed.
MPK-WTAP
Last year, an international diving team explored flooded caves in Madagascar, and uncovered the largest cache of fossils in the country to date, including the remains of gorilla-sized lemurs, pygmy hippopotamuses, horned crocodile and elephant birds.
Last year, an international diving team explored flooded caves in Madagascar, and uncovered the largest cache of fossils in the country to date, including the remains of gorilla-sized lemurs, pygmy hippopotamuses, horned crocodile and elephant birds.
Pietro Donaggio Bitner
A Japanese team from Waseda University stumbled on the tomb of an ancient beer-maker while cleaning the courtyard of another tomb at the Thebes necropolis in the Egyptian city of Luxor.
A Japanese team from Waseda University stumbled on the tomb of an ancient beer-maker while cleaning the courtyard of another tomb at the Thebes necropolis in the Egyptian city of Luxor.
AP Photo/Supreme Council of Antiquities
The 15th-century Qaitbay Citadel in the port city of Alexandria occupies that same location where the famous lighthouse once stood -- partially destroyed in the 11th century by an earthquake, and totally decimated by another in the 1300s. Today the citadel functions as a maritime museum.<br />
The 15th-century Qaitbay Citadel in the port city of Alexandria occupies that same location where the famous lighthouse once stood -- partially destroyed in the 11th century by an earthquake, and totally decimated by another in the 1300s. Today the citadel functions as a maritime museum.
MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
The Temple of Karnak, in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, can be visited on luxury cruises down the Nile, along which tourists can track 5,000 years of history.
The Temple of Karnak, in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, can be visited on luxury cruises down the Nile, along which tourists can track 5,000 years of history.
Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty
Africa's archaeological treasures

Story highlights

Khentkaus III was a queen in the era of the Old Kingdom (2649--2150 BC)

Her tomb was found in November, in Abusir, southwest of Cairo

The discovery helps to illuminate a "black patch" in that period in time

CNN  — 

New details have emerged of a previously unknown queen of ancient Egypt – and if the professor behind the find is correct, it could be bad news for the rest of us.

Reports surfaced in November of the tomb of Khentkaus III, a queen in the era of the Old Kingdom (2649–2150 BC). Discovered in a necropolis in Abusir, southwest of Cairo, she lay 650 feet away from her husband, Pharaoh Neferefre (also known as Reneferef), who ruled some 4,500 years ago.

The find helps color what project leader Professor Miroslav Barta calls “a black patch in the history of the Old Kingdom.” Despite holding the epithet “Queen Mother” – known thanks to graffiti scrawled on the wall of her final resting place – Neferefre’s principal wife was hitherto unknown.

As the team from the Czech Institute of Egyptology begin the long process of analyzing the contents of the tomb, Barta believes it may offer insights into a time not dissimilar from our own – and from which disaster struck and ruin ensued.

Inside the mummy’s tomb

A view from above looking down into the tomb of Khentkaus III.
A view from above looking down into the tomb of Khentkaus III.
courtesy Czech Institute of Egyptology

Alongside human remains, archaeologists discovered pottery, woodwork, copper and animal bones – “her funerary repast,” explains Barta. These items, including the anthropological evidence in the human bones, could offer clues about her life.

“The scientific potential is rather huge,” suggests Barta when describing the contents of the tomb.

Carbon dating can help predict the age of the queen, if she suffered from any physical ailments and, depending on the condition of the pelvis, how many children she bore. A three-dimensional facial reconstruction will be “extremely difficult, if not impossible,” however, due to the body’s smashed skull, likely a result of tomb raiders.

RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE, MANDATORY CREDIT OF THE ARTIST, TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTIONS The Nefertiti bust is pictured during a press preview of the exhibition 'In The Light Of Amarna' to mark the 100 years of the Nefertiti bust discovery at the Neues Museum (New Museum) in Berlin, on December 5, 2012. The exhibition runs from December 6, 2012 to April 13, 2012. AFP PHOTO / MICHAEL SOHN (Photo credit should read MICHAEL SOHN/AFP/Getty Images)
RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE, MANDATORY CREDIT OF THE ARTIST, TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTIONS The Nefertiti bust is pictured during a press preview of the exhibition 'In The Light Of Amarna' to mark the 100 years of the Nefertiti bust discovery at the Neues Museum (New Museum) in Berlin, on December 5, 2012. The exhibition runs from December 6, 2012 to April 13, 2012. AFP PHOTO / MICHAEL SOHN (Photo credit should read MICHAEL SOHN/AFP/Getty Images)
MICHAEL SOHN/AFP/Getty Imagesfile

Related article New clues in hunt for Nefertiti's tomb

A doomsday prediction?

Barta estimates it will take two years to make a full analysis of the tomb’s contents, but he’s optimistic it will provide a wealth of new information for Egyptologists.

Already, though, he notes some similarities between the world Khentkaus occupied and our own.

Professor Barta says that from the find, pottery is among the most important due to its "chronological sensitivity."
Professor Barta says that from the find, pottery is among the most important due to its "chronological sensitivity."
courtesy Czech Institute of Egyptology

“(It was) a crucial period when the Old Kingdom started to face major critical factors: The rise of democracy, the horrific impact of nepotism and the role played by interest groups,” he says, adding that climate change also played a role in bringing an end to not only the Old Kingdom empire, but those in the Middle East and Western Europe at that time.

Within 200 years of the Queen Mother’s death, the Nile no longer flooded and drought consumed the kingdom.

“(This) contributed to the disintegration of the era of the pyramid builders,” Barta explains. “Without reasonable floods, there were no reasonable harvests and therefore very bad taxes; without appropriate taxes there were no sufficient means to finance the state apparatus and maintain the ideology and integrity of the state.”

Fragment of the Cella of the Decades (Cella was a rectangular room inside Greek temples which housed the image of the deity). (Nectanebo I, 30th dynasty 380 to 362 BC), Canopus, Bay of Aboukir, Egypt Divers from the European Underwater Institute of Archeology (IEASM) discovered the missing parties of the Cella of the Decades, a real archaeological puzzle pieced together over the course of two centuries. The roof has been at the Louvre museum since the 19th century, the base and the back wall were discovered in 1940 in the Bay of Aboukir and the side walls were found by IEASM in 1999. This unique monument forms the link between the observation of the position of stars and constellations and their potential positive or negative influences.
Fragment of the Cella of the Decades (Cella was a rectangular room inside Greek temples which housed the image of the deity). (Nectanebo I, 30th dynasty 380 to 362 BC), Canopus, Bay of Aboukir, Egypt Divers from the European Underwater Institute of Archeology (IEASM) discovered the missing parties of the Cella of the Decades, a real archaeological puzzle pieced together over the course of two centuries. The roof has been at the Louvre museum since the 19th century, the base and the back wall were discovered in 1940 in the Bay of Aboukir and the side walls were found by IEASM in 1999. This unique monument forms the link between the observation of the position of stars and constellations and their potential positive or negative influences.
© Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo : Christoph Gerigk
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The find is both a historical echo and a warning, suggests the project leader.

“You can find many paths to our modern world, which is also facing many internal and external challenges,” he argues. “By studying the past you can learn much more about the present. We’re not different [from them]. People always think ‘this time it’s different,’ and that ‘we’re different’. We are not.”

So are we too on the brink of disaster? It’s possible, says Barta. But with the findings, and hopefully the lessons we can learn from Khentkaus’ tomb, he hopes we can take another path.

“If we accept collapse as a fact, we will understand collapses as being a part of the natural course of things, and one of the needed steps in the process leading towards ‘resurrection,’” he argues.

“Then, we shall be able to do something about it.”

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