Foodstuff placement in ibis mummies and the role of viscera in embalming

Abstract

Recent excavation of a mummified ibis, in whose bill were found numerous snails, and the 2010 radiological study of ibis mummies from Yale's Peabody Museum drew attention to the presence of bird foodstuffs intentionally placed inside mummified ibises following evisceration. The foodstuff packing in the Peabody's ibises was likely contained within the birds' own viscera. Radiographs of a hatchling ibis mummy at McGill's Redpath Museum demonstrated similar placement of foodstuffs within the eviscerated body cavity. This pattern of ibis evisceration, with the previously unreported practice of foodstuff packing, suggests the provision of an afterlife food source to the bird. These findings lend support to the idea that the viscera of ibises, and humans alike, were meant to continue their living function in the afterlife. Given that organs of digestion and respiration were specifically preserved and retained within, or in conjunction with, human mummies, the implication is that animals were also treated with similar respect and care, and the crucial role of the viscera was recognised.

Introduction

The Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus – Fig. 1) is now extinct in Egypt, but was commonly mummified in ancient times for votive offerings to gain the favour of Thoth, the god of writing and wisdom (Aufderheide, 2003; Morgan and McGovern-Huffman, 2008; Nicholson, 2005). Thousands have been excavated at Abydos (Ikram, 2007; Whittemore, 1914), as many as 1.75 million birds are present at Saqqara (as estimated by Nick Fieller, information provided by a personal communication of Paul Nicholson, director of the excavations of the ibis catacombs), and more than four million were found in the catacombs of Tuna-el-Gebel (El Mahdy, 1989; Kessler and Nur el-Din, 2005).

Organ removal in the mummification process of ibises is generally considered as an uncommon practice; an early account of the unwrapping of two mummified Egyptian ibises (Pearson, 1805) supports the idea that evisceration was rarely conducted in ibis mummies. Pearson's study attributed “a soft spongy substance, lying quite loose, containing a great number of scarabaei” (1805:270) to intact viscera, and Pearson cites a similar account of reptile skin and scales in another mummified ibis (Cuvier, 1804).

However, the 2006 excavation of a Late Period mummified ibis from the Shuneh ez Zebib at Abydos (unpublished, identification by S.I.), whose bill contained numerous snails (Fig. 1); an ibis mummy at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exhibiting a similar beak packing arrangement (in preparation, identified by S.I.); and the radiological study of ibis mummies from Yale's Peabody Museum, drew further attention to ibis evisceration and to the presence of bird foodstuffs apparently intentionally placed in mummified ibises. Subsequent radiographic examination of an ibis mummy at McGill's Redpath Museum, demonstrated a similar placement of foodstuffs in the eviscerated body cavity.

The increased study of ibis and other animal mummies using state-of-the-art radiographic techniques (i.e., digital radiography, multi-detector computed tomography, etc.) has permitted researchers to examine ibis mummification more closely and without risking damage to the mummy. Three-dimensional imaging especially provides a clear view of the interior of the mummy, and is ideal for examining the contents and modifications to the body cavity. A pattern of ibis evisceration with the curious, and previously unreported, practice of foodstuff packing was revealed by our radiographic studies and suggests the provision of an afterlife food source for the bird.