The “Broken Noses Mystery” has baffled experts and enthusiasts of ancient Egypt, one of the world’s oldest and most enduring civilizations, for decades.
Though thought to be due to the passage of time, interestingly enough, as many of the original statues were, the only thing missing was a nose. Likewise, the only missing part was the two-dimensional embossing work.
The most credible answer at the moment can be summed up in one word: iconoclasm, from the Greek word Eikonoklasmos, meaning “tearing of images”.
We are not talking about the followers of the 8th century trend who refused to worship holy images, destroyed them and persecuted those who venerated them.
In this case, the term is used more broadly to designate a social belief in the importance of destroying icons, images or other relics, often for religious or political reasons.
And it is very logical when you consider that, for the ancient Egyptians, statues were the point of contact between divine and earthly beings.
Objects representing the human form, in stone, metal, wood, clay or even wax, can be occupied by a god or a human being who has died and become a divine being and can thus function in the material world.
Once conquered, the images had powers that could be activated through rituals. They can also be disabled by intentional damage.
Why are you doing this? The motives were many, from anger and resentment against enemies who wanted to do harm in this world and beyond, to the horror of revenge for the deceased felt by grave robbers, as well as the desire to rewrite history or dreams. To change the whole culture.
When Tutankhamun’s father, Akhenaten, who ruled from 1353-1336 BC, wanted the Egyptian religion to revolve around a deity, Aton, the sun god, he found a powerful being: the god Amun.
His Weapon Was the Destruction of Images.
The situation was reversed when Akhenaten died and the Egyptian people resumed their traditional worship: only the temples and monuments in honor of Aten and the late pharaoh were destroyed.
So the distortion was aimed at reducing the force and this can be achieved in several ways.
If you wish to prevent the humans depicted from making much-needed offerings to the gods, you can remove the arm that was commonly used for such a task: the left one.
If you prefer that God not hear them, you would remove God’s ears.
If your intention was to end all possibilities of communication, separating the head from the body was a good option.
But perhaps the most effective and fastest way to satisfy your cravings is to remove your noses.
The nose was the source of breath, the breath of life; The easiest way to kill the spirit inside is to suffocate it by ripping its nose off.”
A few hits with a hammer and chisel, and the problem is solved.
