Did ancient Egyptian princesses use weapons? Controversial study claims they hunted or trained with the military, but not all experts agree.

The dagger buried with Princess Ita, which is now on display at the Egypt Museum. (Image credit: Sameh Abdel Mohsen, Egypt Museum photographer)

Several ancient Egyptian princesses buried with bows, arrows and a dagger may have trained with those weapons during their lives, possibly using them while hunting or practicing archery, a controversial new study suggests.

Researchers examined the remains of six royal individuals who lived during Egypt's Middle Kingdom nearly 4,000 years ago. After analyzing the muscle-attachment sites on these bones, the researchers suggested that certain pronounced areas might be linked to repeated activities such as archery and weapon handling.