NYT SCIENCE: 10 Mummified Crocodiles Emerge From an Egyptian Tomb
By Sam Jones
Section: Science
Source: New York Times
Published Date: January 18, 2023 at 02:00AM
The mummies were among 10 adult crocodiles, likely from two different species, the remains of which were unearthed recently from a tomb at Qubbat al-Hawa on the west bank of the Nile River. The discovery was detailed in the journal PLoS ONE on Wednesday.
The crocodile has played an important role in Egyptian culture for thousands of years. In addition to being linked to a deity, it was a food source, and parts of the animal, like its fat, were used as medicine to treat body pains, stiffness and even balding.
Mummified animals, including ibises, cats and baboons, are relatively common finds in Egyptian tombs. Other mummified crocodile remains have been dug up, but most have been juveniles or hatchlings; additionally, the ones discovered in this new study were in great shape.
“Most of the time I’m dealing with fragments, with broken things,” said Bea De Cupere, an archaeozoologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and a co-author of the study. “To hear you have 10 crocodiles in a tomb. That’s special.”
She was called to the Qubbat al-Hawa site by a research team led by Alejandro Jiménez Serrano, an Egyptologist from the University of Jaén in Spain. In 2018, researchers uncovered seven small tombs under a Byzantium-era rubbish dump. In one of the tombs — sandwiched between the dump site and four human burials believed to be from around 2100 B.C. — were the mummified crocodiles.
Dr. De Cupere studies everything including bones, teeth and shells as well as coprolites, or fossilized feces, and animal prints. “You have archaeologists doing an excavation and, if they find animal remains that they think are worth looking at, that’s when we come into the picture,” Dr. De Cupere said.
By Sam Jones
Section: Science
Source: New York Times
Published Date: January 18, 2023 at 02:00AM
Found beneath an ancient dump, the mummies shed light on ancient Egyptian mummification practices and the many lives of a necropolis.
At first glance, you may think you’re looking at a picture of living crocodiles moving stealthily through mud. But the animals above are mummies, possibly dead for more than 2,500 years and preserved in a ritual that likely honored Sobek, a fertility deity worshiped in ancient Egypt.The mummies were among 10 adult crocodiles, likely from two different species, the remains of which were unearthed recently from a tomb at Qubbat al-Hawa on the west bank of the Nile River. The discovery was detailed in the journal PLoS ONE on Wednesday.
The crocodile has played an important role in Egyptian culture for thousands of years. In addition to being linked to a deity, it was a food source, and parts of the animal, like its fat, were used as medicine to treat body pains, stiffness and even balding.
Mummified animals, including ibises, cats and baboons, are relatively common finds in Egyptian tombs. Other mummified crocodile remains have been dug up, but most have been juveniles or hatchlings; additionally, the ones discovered in this new study were in great shape.
“Most of the time I’m dealing with fragments, with broken things,” said Bea De Cupere, an archaeozoologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and a co-author of the study. “To hear you have 10 crocodiles in a tomb. That’s special.”
She was called to the Qubbat al-Hawa site by a research team led by Alejandro Jiménez Serrano, an Egyptologist from the University of Jaén in Spain. In 2018, researchers uncovered seven small tombs under a Byzantium-era rubbish dump. In one of the tombs — sandwiched between the dump site and four human burials believed to be from around 2100 B.C. — were the mummified crocodiles.
Dr. De Cupere studies everything including bones, teeth and shells as well as coprolites, or fossilized feces, and animal prints. “You have archaeologists doing an excavation and, if they find animal remains that they think are worth looking at, that’s when we come into the picture,” Dr. De Cupere said.
Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/science/mummified-crocodiles-egypt-tomb.html
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