A medical-legal analysis conducted in the United States has revealed lethal injuries on Egyptian skeletal remains preserved in Cambridge, which may be evidence of ritual human sacrifices. An archaeologist from Purdue University in the United States re-examined bones from the Abydos site in Upper Egypt. Her results, published on October 5, 2026, identify lethal injuries on some of them. These marks, which remained invisible for nearly a century, suggest a brutal practice serving royal power. In the 1920s, the British archaeologist Flinders Petrie uncovered several funerary complexes at Abydos. Around the royal tombs of the First Dynasty, he counted hundreds of secondary burials. The unusual number of bodies buried suggested human sacrifices, but no obvious signs of violence confirmed it. The unearthed remains were sent to the University of Cambridge, where they remained stored without further examination. Nearly a century later, the American researcher Roselyn Campbell re-examined these remains using modern medical-legal methods. Of the 46 individuals studied, 18 previously presented injuries attributed to natural causes. Imaging and bone analysis showed something else. These injuries actually correspond to perimortem trauma, that is, occurring at the time of death and not after burial. Of these 18 individuals, most presented linear fractures compatible with a flat and wide object. According to the study published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, these injuries "would likely cause rapid loss of consciousness, internal bleeding, and death." Some also had injuries caused by a sharp object, and one of them had a notch above the orbit. These blows were not accidental. Ancient depictions show kings striking their enemies with a mace. The observed injuries, however, do not correspond to this weapon. Researchers have not definitively identified the instrument used. The type of injury suggests rather a straight-edged tool. No weapon of this profile has been found in the necropolis. The other 28 subjects examined show no visible signs of violence. They may have succumbed to natural causes. Some execution methods, such as poisoning or strangulation, however, leave no imprint on the skeleton. The ritual context and proximity to the necropolis suggest that the entire group was sacrificed. Between 3100 and 2900 BCE, at least five sovereigns used human sacrifices during their funerals. On a religious level, this practice guaranteed the pharaoh an entourage in the afterlife. It also asserted the extent of his authority over his subjects. Secondary burials sometimes included dozens of bodies around a single royal tomb. This custom, however, disappears after the First Dynasty, as royal power consolidates through other means. Votive statues gradually replace real servants around the sovereigns of subsequent dynasties. Petrie had also reburied most of the bodies he had initially unearthed on the site. Dozens of cases remain open, awaiting future archaeological campaigns.