In this episode of The Past Macabre, step into the chaotic period of the Late Bronze Age Collapse to investigate one of history's oldest recorded high-profile murder cases. Egypt was already struggling from years of crop failures, famine, and the world's first recorded labor strike when a highly coordinated network of conspirators chose to exploit the chaos of a sacred celebration to assassinate the pharaoh Ramesses III.

Through a detailed examination of ancient legal records and archaeological excavations at the scene of the murder we'll explore the ancient investigation, trial, and sentences of those found guilty.

We'll also look at the modern CT scans of Ramesses III’s mummy that confirmed his cause of death after modern researchers were left unsure for over 130 years. Join host Stephanie Rice as we explore how this ancient crime reveals deep community fears, fracturing social responsibilities, and what the breakdown of cosmic balance, or Maat, meant to the living.

Offline sources cited:

  • Goedicke, Hans. “Was Magic Used in the Harem Conspiracy against Ramesses III? (P.Rollin and P.Lee).” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, vol. 49, 1963, pp. 71–92.
  • Devéria, T. Le Papyrus Judiciaire de Turin et Les Papyrus Lee et Rollin: Étude Égyptologique. Paris, 1868
  • Hawass, Zahi, Somaia Ismail, Ashraf Selim, Sahar N Saleem, Dina Fathalla, Sally Wasef, Ahmed Z Gad, et al. 2012. Revisiting the Harem Conspiracy and Death of Ramesses III: Anthropological, Forensic, Radiological, and Genetic Study. BMJ : British Medical Journal 345:e8268.

Transcripts

For transcripts of this episode head over to: https://archpodnet.com/tpm/35

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