During the examination of Neskhon’s mummy, archaeologists observed her plump physique and well-endowed bust, leading them to believe that she was either pregnant or had experienced motherhood. This belief persists to this day, with some speculating that she may have died during childbirth.
Neskhon, whose name means “She Belongs to Khons [Khonsu, the Egyptian God of the Moon],” was a noblewoman in the 21st Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, passing away around 969 B.C. At the time of her death, she was fairly young and married to Pinedjem II, a high priest of Amun at Thebes. Neskhon was mummified and adorned with an Osiris shroud, and some of her funerary objects, including vases and a canopic jar chest, still exist today. Although a heart scarab amulet was stolen from her body by the Abdel Rassul family of Qurna, it was eventually recovered and now resides in the British Museum (EA25584).
Despite the loss of many of her goods and funerary items, a unique object was buried alongside Neskhon: an oracular decree with a prayer to Amun. This decree pleaded with the god not to let Neskhon’s spirit harm her widowed husband, Pinedjem II. The reason for this plea remains unknown, but it has captivated the interest and imagination of Egyptologists for over a century.
