For decades, scientists have disputed the meaning of the weapons found in the burial chambers of some ancient Egyptian princesses. Were they symbolic or practical tools? Now, a reassessment of five royal women's mummies from the Middle Kingdom has shown that some princesses buried with weapons could use them.

Ancient Egyptian princesses actually knew how to use the weapons they were buried with, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.

For decades, scientists have disputed the meaning of the weapons found in the burial chambers of some ancient Egyptian princesses. Were they symbolic or practical tools? Now, a…