A 4,000 -year -old hand footprint discovered in ancient Egyptian tomb by curators prepared for an exhibition.

The discovery was made by researchers at the University of Cambridge in a “house of the soul”, a kind of clay building usually placed in burials.

Curator Helen Studwick said the hand footprint, dating from 2055 to 1650 BC, is “a rare and exciting” discovery.

The ceramic object will be exhibited at the Made in Ancient Egypt University’s exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, which will be inaugurated on October 3rd.

How it was built:

The potter first created a skeleton of wooden sticks and then cooked it with clay to form the building the wood burned during baking, leaving gaps.

Ms Strudwick, head of the Museum Egyptian, said: “We have seen traces of fingerprints in varnish or on a carcass decoration, but it is rare and exciting to find a whole hand footprint left by the manufacturer when it was touched. I have never seen such a full footprint in an Egyptian object before. “

What are the “Homes of the Soul”:

They probably served as bids discs or as the last residence of the dead in the grave. They had an open front where foods such as bread loops, lettuce, oxen head were placed.

The analysis showed that the footprint was probably created when the craftsman transported the object out of the lab to dry before baking it in the oven.

The exhibition focuses on the people who created Egyptian objects, and not the kings, such as Tutaghamon.

Although the pottery was widely used and huge quantities have been saved, few are known for the potters themselves, compared to other craftsmen.