Archaeologists were surprised to find that many ancient animal mummies did not contain animals but were filled mainly with mud, sticks, feathers, and eggshells.
It is well known that the Egyptians not only mummified their kings but also did the same with animals. However, recent research by scientists at the University of Manchester has shown that most of these Egyptian animal mummies are fakes.
This conclusion was made after experts analyzed more than 800 mummies, from cats, crocodiles… Accordingly, scientists found that about 1/3 of these “mummies” did not contain animals but were mainly filled with mud, sticks, feathers, eggshells and many other materials. The remaining 1/3 of the mummies contained partial bones of complete animals, the number of complete mummies in each specimen seemed to be a minority.
Scientists believe that the ancient people involved in this embalming industry simply needed to keep up with demand, so they added mud, sticks, and reeds to the specimens.
Dr Lidija McKnight – Egyptologist at the University of Manchester said: “The materials used for embalming had special significance for the Egyptians. Therefore, basically organic materials such as mud, sticks, reeds or eggshells, feathers… in nature, scattered around the embalming workshop also have some connection with animals.”
For a mummified bird, a few feathers or mud collected from a sacred site might be an acceptable subsтιтute for a complete skeleton. These mummies served as a means of reinforcing religious beliefs.
According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, animals were often mummified and buried with their owners when they died.
The Egyptians believed in polytheism. For them, animals could be pets or representatives of gods. Many experts believe that this mummification practice appeared after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, around 3,000 BC.
Many archaeological discoveries also indicate that the oldest signs of animal mummies such as baboons, cats, crocodiles, etc. were around 5,500 – 4,000 BC. Along with that, archaeologists have also found more than 30 Egyptian cemeteries created to bury animal mummies, some of which contain millions of specimens.
