09 | Mummified animals

From creatures of the land to those of the sky and the water, many animals were bred and revered by the ancient Egyptians.

Many were also mummified. These include the 5 animals here – a cat, falcon, crocodile, snake and fish.

Unlike human mummification, animal mummification was not usually meant to preserve an animal’s body for eternal life.

Only very few people are known to have mummified their beloved pets to be buried with their owners.

Most mummified animals were either to be offered in tombs to guarantee food supplies for deceased individuals in their afterlife, or dedicated as offerings to the gods with whom they were associated.

For instance, mummified ibises were a fitting gift for the ibis god Thoth.

Occasionally, mummified animals were actual sacred creatures such as the Apis bull or other temple animals that were mummified after their death.

Each creature here was delicately wrapped in several layers of linen and 3 have additional features modelled onto the linen.

The cat was given triangular ears and the falcon its large black eyes and pointed beak.

The crocodile’s body was shaped by different layers of overlapping vegetable stalks and linen, some painted brown.

For the head, a strip of linen was placed horizontally to mimic the mouth and two slits were cut for the eyes, their irises painted in black.

The snake and fish were treated differently.

The snake is mummified as a simple, flat, rectangular package.

The bandaged fish was placed onto padded linen inserted in the hollow of a wooden container shaped as a fish, its lid sealing the creature inside.

The container is covered with a white paint-like substance called gesso, onto which you can see the painted details of a fish, including a red tail, blue and white scales lined in red, and red gills, eyes and mouth.

The more skills and resources it took to mummify an animal, the more expensive the process.

Some had their own coffins and sarcophagi of wood, stone or even bronze.

Clearly, donating or preserving these creatures was very important.

Some sites have yielded multiple mummified animals, like the cats buried at the ancient city of Bubastis, where Bastet, the cat-headed goddess, was worshipped.

Significant infrastructure was required to support such high volumes of mummification.

It’s believed an industry of sorts was developed for animals that would be offered to the gods.

Farms have been found where animals were reared solely for mummification and it is likely that temple priests were specifically trained in ritual killing and embalming.

Not every mummified remain contained an entire animal.

Scanning and unwrapping sometimes reveal empty bundles, a different animal altogether or even bits and pieces of fur or feathers.

This practice should not automatically be understood as deception, because the votive gifts could have been amplified by the prayers and offerings of the pilgrims.

In Egyptian religion, the idea was that a part could symbolise the whole, so perhaps this cheaper option was as religiously valid and simply reflected different people’s means.

A mummified cat, with the distinct shape of the head and ears.