Mummified Ibis

Ancient Egyptians believed animals and birds could also go into the afterlife. This had two aspects. One was the desire to play with pets in the afterlife, which meant cats and dogs were mummified alongside their owners. The other was the practice of animal cults in which the spirit of a particular deity was believed to reside in an animal. When the animal died it was mummified and a new live animal selected. Huge numbers of animal mummies have been found, including millions of ibises at Saqqara alone, so many that it is possible that the Egyptians bred them specifically as offerings and that they were kept in sacred colonies.
This example is presented as an ibis. Birds were sometimes kept as pets but the ibis was believed to represent the god Thoth. Radiography of this bundle revealed no material in good enough condition to confirm the ibis identification proclaimed on the wrapping. There are lots of small bones and feather elements combined with mud suggesting that this was a using up of left over bits from other mummifications. It was clearly re-packaged in the mid-nineteenth century to appeal to collectors and tourists. It may have been found at Saqqara. It was donated by Dr Henderson.