CLOSE MENU

Raptor mummy

A raptor mummy in roughly anthropoid form, with mummified body and head that might once have had some modelling. The ventral side is more elaborately decorated than the dorsal, albeit it is damaged, and portions are missing. The textile that covers the breast and the face functioned as the background, sporting a dark brown bandage that created a rectangular frame that also encircles the head. The lower end of the bird is covered by a different fabric, which gives the tail a covering of a beige-yellow loosely woven bandage. The head was probably covered by an extra bandage with indications of the bird’s face. The dorsal side of the mummy is very disordered, showing disintegrating bandages that are darkened by resin and oil, kept in place with thread.
The CT scan shows the complete skeleton of an adult raptor. The animal is in a standard position with the wings gathered along the body and the legs flexed. The skull is damaged. The animal was probably eviscerated.

Suppl. 11039
Organic animal+plant fiber / Linen
5.5 cm x 25.5 cm
332–30 BCE
Late Period
Asyut
Excavation Ernesto Schiaparelli, 1910–1912
Museum / Floor 1 / Room 11 RET / Cabinet 49 Mummies / Shelf 04
Museo Egizio