SASA Winter 2025 Master Class: Cold Case Egypt: The Assassination of Ramesses III (the 'Harem Conspiracy')

On April 15th, 1155 BCE, pharaoh Ramesses III was allegedly assassinated in his harem in a plot devised by one of his wives, Queen Tiye. In a bid for her son’s ascension to the throne, she and a court official, Pebekkamen, organized a deadly coup to overthrow the king. Justice was served swiftly: the alleged culprits were arrested, questioned, put on trial and then executed. Seems fairly straight forward, right? 

As it turns out, not quite! More than 3,000 years later, some archaeologists are questioning the verdict. Using the trial accounts, autopsy reports, contextual information about the period, statements from Ramesses III and his successor Ramesses IV, previous accounts of assassinations, and archaeological data we are reopening the case. 

Your task is to use the material to create a list of evidence and facts in order to disentangle the circumstances surrounding this case from over 3,000 years ago. You will…