Mummification in Ancient Egypt

Mummification - the preservation of the body after death - is a process as old as Egyptian culture itself, and which evolved along with it's civilisation, at times both reflecting and defining it throughout the history of the kingdom. Described in contemporary Egyptian texts and Classical Greek literature (though often misguided) the methods and materials are now substantiated by modern mummy examinations.

The practice is not singular to Egypt, examples from South America, Australia, Melanesia and the Aleutian Islands, though the processes involved vary wildly. Different climates can precipitate natural mummification such as waterlogged conditions or freeze drying, the Peruvian mummies are the result of a very dry arid environment fascinating in that the body is placed in a flexed position sat in a basket or gourd. But artificial mummification is synonymous with Egypt, and animal mummification unique.

The earliest indication of a belief in the afterlife in Egypt was during prehistory and patterned around the cycle of growth, death and rebirth. Their shallow graves were dug in the sand providing a natural desiccation for the body often on excavation still retaining their facial definition. Occasionally the bodies of small animals, dogs and sheep were wrapped in linen and buried in cemeteries with the same care accorded to the Badarians - implying the creatures had an afterlife; the first cases of animal importance and 'mummification'. The disposition and nature of these goods depict Egypt in its embryonic stage.

As the 'primitive' burial sandpits were replaced with architectural tombs, although protected from scavenging jackals and natural erosion, the conditions were far removed from the naturally desiccating sand, allowing the bodies to corrupt becoming open to dampness and biological attack. A preservation technique was needed, and the development of this artificial technique formed the backbone for the development of Egyptian religious life.

Animal Mummification.

Sacred, domestic, victual and votive animals.

Animal mummification falls into four basic categories: The mummies of sacred cult animals; domestic pets; victual mummies; and votive offerings. Animal cults existed within Egyptian belief from predynastic times and centred on a single animal that would be worshipped throughout its life as the earthly body of a god. The most famous examples being the Apis bulls, and other bull cults, which survived the whole length of Egyptian culture. These cult animals, and sometimes their mothers or children would be mummified after death, and interred in individual burials.

The mummies of domestic animals, and victual mummies - mummified meats, were interred along with the mummy of persons of power as part of their grave goods to be food and companionship in the afterworld. The meats were jointed and boxed up to the XIIX dynasty, after this period they were treated with natron, wrapped in linen, painted (so as to appear cooked) and placed in a shaped wooden coffin. Domestic pets of many species, gazelles, monkeys, dogs and cats, were mummified after their natural death, and placed in their owners' tombs. They occur in human burials of all periods.

Votive mummies were offerings to the gods and occur only late in Egyptian history, from the Saite to the Roman periods. All kinds of animals were offered, the most abundant being Cats, Mongeese, Ibises, Hawks, Vultures and Crocodiles. These are by far the most common types of animal mummies.

Unfortunately, votive animal mummification is a subject which has had few serious studies, despite the abundance and popularity of the relics. Current studies by the EEF of the Sacred Animal Necropoli at Saqqara, and the research and conservation work of the Animal Mummy Project at the Egyptian Antiquities Museum, and at the British Museum, should go some way to throwing light on this remarkably overlooked subject.

Sacred and Cult Animal Mummification.

Votive animal mummification.

Votive animal mummification.

Historical Background

During the Late New Kingdom there was a gradual relaxing of the religious establishment. The suppressed cultural revolution of Amenophis IV (Akenaten), who couched his political reforms in religious terms, undermining the authority and power of the priests and suggesting that ordinary Egyptians, could worship or ask favours of the gods, and instituting a new monotheistic belief for his own family. Although the traditional religious order was reaffirmed in the brief reign of Tutankamun, the idea and practice of commoners asking the temple gods to intercede on their behalf became more and more acceptable.

By the end of the New Kingdom commoners would consult the temple gods as they would an oracle. In order to attract the attention of their chosen god votive offerings of bronze or faience figures dedicated to that god would be made. That animal totems were so universally adopted is an indication that the common Egyptians had held on to predynastic prehistoric animal worship in some subtle form rather than totally absorbing the complex theriomorphic gods of the Pharaohs official theology. Popular religious practice had always allowed commoners to create personal gods suitable to their status. Perhaps a snake that lived near their home, or a crocodile that lived in a nearby river would be chosen and anthropomorphised - these potentially dangerous animals could be pacified and their favour won through worship. The move towards votive offerings can be seen then as a marrying of the two religious traditions, allowing the temples to profit from an established folk practice.

Votive mummification appeared along with another political upheaval. The XXVI Dynasty under Nekau I ended a lengthy period of Libyan and later Nubian or Kushite rule. Although the Nubians were culturally assimilated (indeed they maintained their 'Egyptian' beliefs until the 4th Century CE.); and had reunified the country from a period of feudal disarray, the re-establishment of government in the delta at Sais was heralded with an attempt to reassert 'Egyptianness'. The exploitation of historical nationalism was a common feature of new dynasties hoping to validate and consolidate their claim to power by hankering back to former glories. In the Saite period however, this amounted to much more than mere imitation and the elaboration of old artistic archetypes gave birth to a real creative renaissance and the last flowering of truly Egyptian culture.

The popular rise of this new nationalism came alongside a foreign policy, under Nekau II, of encouraging Greek immigration and the establishment of Greek colonies within Egypt. The return to established forms may have been a reaction to the influx of foreigner with very un-Egyptian beliefs and practices. This was manifested in a somewhat symbolic return to tradition whereby old techniques were adapted to fit current habits. For example, there was a return to the use of stone for coffins, however the shape and decoration were very new, being much broader and covered in lines of text. Similarly the rise of animal mummification during the Saite Period and its superseding of other votive offerings are a result of the nationalistic rise of 'traditional practices' that consolidated the kingdom at this time.

The practice and trade of votive mummification.

The animals which were offered in the temples were predominantly those whose prey were vermin - rats, mice, snakes and other domestic pests - and which had therefore had been helpful during life (and presumably would be helpful again in death). However feared animals, particularly crocodiles, were also mummified and offered at the temples dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek. The temples themselves built at sites where crocodiles attacked were highest, respect and fear going hand in hand, to produce a thriving temple culture.

The offering of votive animals was incredibly popular, and the galleries that house them contain a staggering number. Half a million ibises are interred at Saqqara, with a further 80,000 at Tuna el-Gebel. The ancient trade in mummified animals supported the temples and significantly bolstered the economy of the whole country, and ensured its official approval and survival through Persian and Ptolemaic rule until the late Roman period and the advent of Christianity.

So vigorous was the trade that most mummified animals must have been raised and killed for the purpose. In the Temple of Thoth at Tell el-Gebel there is a compound where it would appear that both ibises and baboons were bred to be killed and sold for mummification. However, Heroditus (5th Century BCE) states that the killing of ibises was an offence and that Egyptians went to extraordinary lengths to avoid killing cats, while Diodorus Siculus (1st Century BCE) records the killing of a Roman for the accidental killing of a cat. These prohibitions must have been a method of ensuring that people did not kill their own offerings and secured their offerings from the temple stocks - which were possibly sold as natural deaths. X-ray examination of 55 cats presented to the British Museum by Flinders Petrie showed that most cats had their necks broken, many possibly severed from their bodies. Also from this sample 20 specimens were seen to be kittens between 1-4 months old, 17 were between 9-17 months old and only 2 of the 55 were over 24 months - a fairly clear indication of an intensive breeding practice.

The process of mummification in votive animals was very different from the careful preparations of human mummies or the elaborate last offices of the sacred animals, rather the despatch and preservation of these animals was in line with the production line methods of their breeding. The methods of preservation were varied; some included evisceration or drying in natron, reminiscent of the human process, to prevent decomposition, whereas others appear to have been dipped live into hot resin to seal the body.

More importance seems to have been attached to the bodies wrappings and outward appearance, but again this varied from the human model. Though some animals were wrapped to maintain the shape of there bodies, others were merely packages, with no real indication as to what kind of animal was enclosed. Often with smaller animals, (e.g. snakes or kittens) more than one animal would be bound into the same bundle. Wrappings were sometimes painted or even had cartonnage features, some (some ibises certainly) had appliqué figures attached. As with human mummies the Roman period brought a number of elaborate geometric binding variations.

Once bound the mummies were generally placed in coffins or jars before being returned to the shine priests to be entombed on the devotee’s behalf as part of a mass interment ceremony. Jars of earthenware or stone would usually hold one mummy sealed with plaster. At the Abydos cemetery however larger jars were used holding several mummies at a time. Coffins ranged from simple cartonnage or wooden caskets, to wooden ‘cases’, hollow statues made in the shape of the animal / god (ie. Bastet or Wadjet for cats, Anubis for dogs). Often it has been found that the more elaborate coffins contain less impressively bound mummies and vice verBronze relic boxes were sometimes used, usually with the animal in relief on the lid. These would often hold not only the animal remains but other items of temple equipment that could not be destroyed because of their sacred nature, and instead formed part of the offering. Relic boxes exist for all kinds of animals, though the creatures they are dedicated to are not always those interred inside, or those associated with the cemetery in which they are found.

Cats (Miw)

Sacred to the goddess Bastet, local deity of Per-Bast in the Delta. As the daughter of Re she was the destructive eye of the sun, and represented as a lioness, later she became represented as a cat, usually with kittens, and adopted a more protective persona.

Cats were eviscerated and their bodies often stuffed with earth or sand. The forelegs were pulled down along the body, while the hind legs were pulled up against the pelvis; the head was then set at right angles to the body, giving the animal a more human aspect. The fresh body was then wrapped in bandages soaked in natron, which would dry the body, though some examples were treated with resin. Wrapped in many styles, often with two coloured linens, and a shaped decorated head, one in the BM has an exaggerated shaped foot allowing the mummy to stand upright. Often placed in a 'cat-case', a bronze or wooden case made in the shape of a cat, with inset eyes and other decorations.

The cats interred were generally of the species Felis silvestris lybica, the African wild cat, though less frequent examples of the larger jungle or marsh cat, Felis chaus, are quite common. In a study by the natural history museum, of 190 cat mummies from Flinders Petrie's excavations at Denderra, 187 were found to be Felis silvestris lybica while 3 were of Felis chaus.

Although very common, the number of examples we have today is tiny compared to those that were found 150 years ago in the mud-brick vaulted cemeteries to the north of the temple of Bastet at Tell Basta (Per-Bastet)¹. The apparently inexhaustible supply of these items, meant they were treated with contempt, and led to wholesale destruction and abuse (it was suggested they could be used as an industrial fertiliser or to fire trains!). Certainly from one shipment of 19 tonnes of cats, just a single skull survived to enter the NHM collection.

At Tell Basta the cemeteries were dedicated to Bastet and were associated with the temple established by Cheops and Chephren for the worship of this local cat goddess. In dynasty XXII it became the pharaonic residence and Osorkon II and III enlarged and expanded the complex. Subsequently in the XXX dynasty, during the late period when votive offerings were a well established phenomenon Nectanebo II made further additions to the temple. The site was excavated by the Egypt Exploration Society under Edouard Naville in 1887-89, the excavations are recorded in two EEF Memoirs: VIII. - Bubastis; and X. - The Festival Hall of Osorkon II. (Bubastis), both by Naville.

At Saqqara cats were interred at the Bubastieion on the eastern edge of the northern Saqqara complex, diametrically opposite the Serapeum. This large square enclosure contained both temple and cemetery, but so extensive were the burials that they eventually encroached upon older burial sites where votive cats were interred in nearby private tombs. Alain Zivre of the Centre National Recherché Scientique has recently excavated the XVIII dynasty tomb of the Vizier Aper-el. This tomb was filled with cats during the 3rd Century BCE, these mummies appear to be predominantly of a type with individually bound legs as opposed to the more common type described above.

A further cat cemetery can be found at Speos Artemidos - the temple of Pakhet², the lioness goddess, in Beni Hasan. This rock cut temple was established by Hapcheptsut to the south of the Beni Hasan necropolis. The cat cemeteries that surround the temple date from the Late Period (747-332 BCE.), but have been heavily plundered. Archaeological surveys of the area were published by the EEF.

Cats were also interred in the common cemetery at Dendera.

Crocodiles (Emush)

Sacred to the God Sobek, 'Lord of Fear in the Water', who was represented
at a crocodile, some times with the head of a hawk, and had the temples of
Kom Ombo and Narmuthis dedicated to him.

Dried, usually without evisceration, in either natron or salt, or
copiously treated with resin until the body is sealed, producing a solid and
heavy mass. Wrapped in a natural shape or as a bundle tapering at each end,
sometimes on boards or with stiffening splints, using reeds or papyrus to
stuff and shape the bundle. Often wrapped with their young or even eggs.
Placed in a bronze or wooden rectangular box, often with a lizard in relief
on the top. Large crocodiles are uncommon, but smaller caiman and other
lizards are common, possibly an indication of farming. Larger mummies are
often found to contain several immature bodies bound together a formed to
the shape of the mature creature.

A crocodile necropolis sacred to Sobek lay in the vicinity of the temple
to this god at Kom-ombo. The hundreds of mummies originally interred here
are now 'stored' in a small mammisi chapel on the temple's exterior mudbrick
wall. The temple was sited upon a bend in the Nile, a favourite basking
place for crocodiles, and a major attraction of the site was a sacred lake
with it's retinue of divine animals.

Also found interred at their sacred centres in the Fayoum district,
particularly at Medinet el-Fayum (Crocodilopolis).

Heroditus describes a labyrinth where the sacred Crocodiles were kept,
wearing jewels on their feet and being fed on cakes and honeyed drinks.
Sacred crocodiles were indeed kept in the sacred lakes of many temples, and
a roman papyrus letter survives requesting that special cakes be prepared
for a visiting dignitary who wished to feed the sacred animals. Examples
found by Petrie during his Hawara excavations found some bundles contained
portions of the animal made up into a mummy of the whole animal. Ptolemaic
examples from the Fayoum have been found to use 'recycled' papyrus both as
packing material in the mummy or as a constituent of the cartonnage coffins.
Papyrus was an expensive commodity and so it's re-use in this way is not
entirely unexpected. As a result many Crocodile mummies have been important
sources of written documentation and information.

Falcons or Hawks (Bik)

Regarded as the Ba of Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, as a falcon he would
fly above Egypt, watching over it. Also associated with Sobek (see above).
Horus was depicted as a Laner Falcon, however x-rays of mummified birds
offered to him have often proven to be no only falcons, but kites, vultures
other prey birds and even small songbirds. It is uncertain whether this
indicates that the actual contents of the bundle were less important than
its appearance - the wrappings reforming the bird into the species required
(just as embalmers would reform the missing limbs of human mummies).
Classical zoology is notoriously vague and differentiation between species
may not have been made. Equally these mummies could be ancient 'fakes'
fraudulently sold as falcons - possibly due to difficulty in rearing them in
captivity. Whichever may be the case, the study of these mummies is now
informative as to the variety and distribution of these various bird species
in the ancient world, and from this to changes in climate, food sources and
habitat.

Placed in a pottery vessel and sealed with plaster. Otherwise in a
rectangular bronze coffin, or in a bronze case shaped like a hawk. In the
Late Period birds of prey were often heavily bound and given a cartonnage
mask of a human face, as such they were often mistaken for the mummies of
children. More commonly though they were given a Horus head in plaster or
cartonnage.

The temple of Nectanebo II at Saqqara, dedicated to Isis as mother of the
Apis, has a distinct chamber for hawk offerings (associated with Osiris and
Horus, her husband and son). A narrow staircase leads down to a twisting
passage way around 3m square and over 600m long, leading off this are
numerous galleries filled with over 100,000 votive hawks. These side
chambers are completely filled with jars in orderly layered rows separated
by a thin layer of clean sand. The chambers, once full, were sealed off
from the main corridor by stone brick or plaster, and the next gallery was
filled. At intervals along the passages a niche would be carved into the
wall containing a single mummy of superior quality, cased in a coffin of
wood or limestoneanimals and gods in bronze or faience, relic boxes (mainly
adorned with hawks, but also a host of other animals), ibis mummies and a
few much larger jars containing mummified vultures.

Also at common cemetery in Dendera.

Ibises (Habu)

Sacred to the god Thoth. Thoth was the god of wisdom and writing,
represented as an ibis, and ibis headed man or as a baboon. Also Osiris
(Thoth/Anubis) and so ibis burials at these sites are often found with
associated dog cemeteries.
Ibises were sometimes eviscerated before being preserved. Held by the feet,
their bodies were submerged in liquid resin, before being intricately
wrapped and buried in earthenware jars (sometimes several to one jar), and
stopped with plaster. Examples from Tuna el-Gebel show that more elaborate
pots contain plainly wrapped offerings whilst more elaborate and finely
bound examples are housed in plainer containers. Whether this is due to a
gradual shift in emphasis of the importance of casing to wrapping, or
whether one offset the expense of the other is unclear.

The sacred ibis, Theskiornis aethiopicus, is the species most commonly
preserved, being the species depicted in representations of Thoth. It has a
predominantly white body with a black neck, hindquarters, wingtips and legs
and a distinctively curved dark bill. It has been extinct in Egypt since
the early nineteenth century but still flourishes elsewhere. The crested or
hermit ibis, Geronticus eremita, has longer legs and neck, upon which is the
distinctive ruff which gives it it's name. It is only found in Egypt now as
an rare, accidental migrant, but was apparently common in ancient times,
though it was rarely depicted in Nile scenes, as it is not a waterside bird
(hence it's 'hermit' epithet). It's picture formed the hieroglyph 'to shine
', and represented the Ankh. The glossy ibis, Plegadis falcinellus, has a
bright glossy bronze colour to it's wings and back, but is usually depicted
in old kingdom tombs as being all black. This species was said to have
defended Egypt from winged serpent.
Ibises were bred for mummification compounds at Saqqara and Tuna were found
littered with broken eggs are assumed to be rearing pens. There are also
theories suggesting the artificial incubation of eggs in ovens at these
sites. Ibis eggs were themselves sometimes mummified and interred in the
catacombs.

Another feature of animal necropoli dedicated to Thoth is there use as
libraries - both at the Ibeum at Khmun and the Serapeum in Alexandria, which
was reputed at various times to contain from 200,000 to 700,000 rolls.

El-Ashmunein was the site of Khmun - the city of Thoth , here there was a
Temple of Thoth, where ibis and baboons were kept, their mummies interred
four miles away at the animal necropolis of Tuna el-Gebel. The catacombs of
this cemetery primarily hold ibis, but also hawks, and further galleries of
baboons and crocodiles.

Found interred in two underground galleries to the north and south of the temple of Nectanebo II at Saqqara. Over 500,000 birds are interred here alone. The archive of Hor, a priest at Saqqara, records complaints of fraudulent embalming practices in the interring of empty pots and vessels, this is disapproved of, though it is not clear if jars whose contents were 'fakes' were looked upon in a similar way.

An unusual cemetery was found at Abydos, here ibis offerings were not buried but rather placed in large pots on the surface of the ground, above underground brick enclosures containing larger animals (mainly dogs, also ox and sheep). This cemetery was discovered by WLS Loat in 1913, when 93 jars of unbaked clay were found, their mouths covered with bricks. The shape of the jars suggested a Roman date, around 150CE, and rather than being buried they had been left to be naturally covered by the desert sands. The jars were large some containing over a hundred mummified bundles, and Loat recorded over 1500 ibis mummies, as well as a large number of bundles containing young, bones and feathers, also two pottery vases full of ibis eggs were found, and a few hawks, shrews and snakes.

The following year Tommas Wittemore continued the excavation, this
finding an even larger cache, these including many ibises with appliqué figures on them, sometimes with elements of the figure, perhaps the head of a god, or the body of an ibis, in gold leaf or in limestone paste.

Another striking feature of the finds were the array of intricate
geometric weaves employed in the mummy's wrapping, linens were dyed brown and black and bound in over 60 different patterns.

Also found in the mixed cemeteries of Denedra.

This Entry is being co-written by researcher 183016 and Emma Duggan of AOC Archeology.