Falcons and Rats or Shrews, Oh My! - Archaeology Magazine Archive


Falcons and Rats or Shrews, Oh My!	January 31, 2001
by Angela M.H. Schuster

One of eight miniature limestone coffins that contained mummified rats or shrews (Supreme Council of Antiquities) [LARGER IMAGE]

Ever consider preserving your beloved pet for the afterlife? The ancient Egyptians did, as evidenced by the recent discovery of an animal cemetery at Abydos, 350 miles south of Cairo. Antiquities inspector Yahya al-Masri and his team unearthed the remains of 25 falcons and eight small mammals--either rats or shrews--that had been mummified in the fourth century B.C. The falcons had been placed in six large pottery jars, the mammals in tiny individual limestone coffins, several covered in gold leaf and embossed with images of the animals.

Mummification of animals, either beloved pets or those that had been sacrificed to the gods, is well known from ancient Egypt. Crocodiles and cats, associated with the deities Sobek and Bastet, were among the most popular. Several farms where animals were raised, mummified, and later sold as offerings have been found in Egypt, the most recent being a crocodile farm excavated by an Italian team at the site of Narmuthis in the Faiyum.

An animal cemetery containing dogs and ibises was excavated at Abydos in the nineteenth century but remains largely unpublished. "Historically, animal cemeteries never attracted the scholarly interest of their human counterparts," says Salima Ikram of the American University in Cairo. "The new-found cemetery is sure to enhance our understanding of Ptolemaic cult practices."

Abydos is famed for its mortuary complex and temple to Osiris, commissioned by the New Kingdom pharaoh Seti I (r. ca. 1306-1290 B.C.). Current excavations at the site will be explored in detail in the July/August issue of ARCHAEOLOGY.--ANGELA M.H. SCHUSTER