The Dismembered Hands of Avaris, or How Do You Say “The Sound of One Hand Clapping” in Egyptian?

This Week in the Ancient Near East

Pits with dismembered hands at the Hyksos site of Tell el Dab’a/Avaris have us asking, what is it with ancient Egypt and dismemberment? Sure the king wants to permanently defeat his enemies – really, who doesn’t want that - but isn’t all this hand chopping business just, well, performance art? It’s our most hands on episode yet!