Egypt is renowned for its pyramids and mummies, with each having fascinating stories behind them. Gods for every entity, ancient traditions for every practice, and the ritual of sacrificing animals for the gods. Scientists have discovered a 3000-year-old crocodile mummy, offered to the Nile god Sobek.
Ancient Egyptians did not mummify just their relatives but thousands of animals as well. These animals, preserved as mummies, required examination to understand how the crocodile died and what it was fed before mummification, hinting at what remains in its stomach even today.
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The quest was to determine how the crocodile was killed. Each Egyptian animal had a different association with their gods; like the falcon with the sun god Horus due to its ability to fly close to the sun, or the cat with the goddess Bastet for its protective nature. This is why these animals were mummified.
Crocodile and Bird Mummies in Ancient Rituals
These were offered to gods, around 750 BC to 250 AD. Some animal mummies from that time do not even exist in Egypt anymore, such as the Ibis - a long-legged, curved-beak bird associated with the god Thoth, now extinct in Egypt.
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Many crocodile mummies have been discovered here. The largest among them indicated Egyptians wore crocodile skins to ward off evil or hung mummified crocodiles on doors and walls for protection, much like Feng Shui.
CT Scan Reveals What This Crocodile Ate Before Death
This crocodile is 2.23 meters long and is housed at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. It underwent radiographic study at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, using medical tools to peer inside without damaging it. Gastroliths, or small stones swallowed to aid digestion, were found in its stomach, proving that the mummification process left internal organs intact. Also found were fish hooks and metal, likely used to catch it.
In those times, people used fish bait with hooks to trap crocodiles. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who traveled to Egypt in the fifth century BC, documented such practices, where pigs were killed to attract crocodiles or fish bait was used to catch them.
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