Freaky Face

 

Freaky Face (Strange Face)

In Berlin’s Neues Museum stands the world-renowned bust of Nefertiti. It is believed to have been created around 1340 BCE by the sculptor Thutmose. The bust shows the face of Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. Every year, around 500,000 visitors come to see it, yet few of them know what lies beneath its beautiful surface.

In 2009, researchers conducted a CT scan of the bust and discovered that the outer face covers an inner core. The scan revealed subtle changes around the mouth and cheeks, less prominent cheekbones, and a small bump on the nose. It appears that the sculptor may have modeled the queen in an idealized way, covering the limestone core with layers of stucco before shaping the final, graceful face we admire today. The result is a masterpiece that seems almost two-faced, hiding one form beneath another.

Some people believe the bust’s unusually long head points to even more mysterious secrets. Online conspiracy theorists have suggested that Nefertiti had an elongated skull, linking it to ancient aliens. Although the shape may look strange, the more likely explanation is artificial cranial deformation, a practice in which the skull of an infant was gradually shaped by applying pressure while it was still soft.

This kind of skull shaping was not unusual in ancient societies. In fact, it was practiced among some members of the ancient Egyptian nobility as a sign of status and distinction. It helped set the upper classes apart from the rest of society and may have been seen as a mark of beauty or prestige.

To me the Nefertiti bust points to an ancient custom of skull shaping, or does it invite stranger theories?