Radiocarbon dating of Sacred Ibis mummies from ancient Egypt

Highlights

• We present the first ¹⁴C dates for animal mummified remains from Egypt in order to establish how closely they match the archaeological chronology.

• Our ¹⁴C radiocarbon results date the Ibis mummies between c. 450 and 250 cal BC, which falls between the Late Period to the Ptolemaic Period at maximum and none of the samples were dated to the Roman era.

• In total one textile, one resinous substance and six bone samples were dated and the dates on textile and bone are consistent.

• We see no indication of a radiocarbon reservoir effect due to fresh water diet or contamination with mummification materials.

Abstract

Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) were widespread in Egypt until the eighteenth century. Today the species is extinct in modern Egypt but millions of mummified specimens are scattered geographically in dedicated Ibis burial sites throughout the country. Ibises were regarded as physical manifestations of the god Thoth and worshiped by the ancient Egyptians. A small number of Sacred Ibis were chosen as ‘sacred animals’, based on physical markings, and were reared for the temples. However, the majority of the mummified Sacred Ibis were ‘votive animals’ that were given as offerings to the deities by pilgrims, and then buried in catacombs associated with the temple. Their supply became an industry that is thought to have flourished from the Late Period, well into the Roman Period (c. 664 BC to AD 350). Dating of the Sacred Ibis mummies, as well as other mummified animal specimens, has been based on archaeological evidence such as the age of catacombs, the design of enclosures and the shape of the mummy containers (pottery jars, wooden chests or stone boxes). Here we present the first ages of a selection of Sacred Ibis mummies using ¹⁴C methods in order to establish how closely they match the archaeological chronology. Dates are reported from museum samples provenience from Saqqara, Roda and Thebes. Our ¹⁴C radiocarbon results date the Ibis mummies between c. 450 and 250 cal BC and represent a short period of time. Those dates are falling from the Late Period to the Ptolemaic Period at maximum. Surprisingly, none of the samples were dated to the Roman era.

Introduction

The ancient Egyptians' phenomenal success in preserving bodies was not only practiced on humans, but on a wide range of animals as well. Many attempts were made to understand and explain the cultural and religious significance behind the mummification of different animals (e.g. Ikram, 2005). For the ancient Egyptians, animals, or at least animals kept in the temple, were considered ethically in much the same way as humans. This was exemplified by a text from the first millennium BC: “I have given bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothing to the naked. I have given food to the ibis, the falcon, the cat and the jackal” (Bergmann, 1879). The Egyptians believed that both humans and animals were equivalent forms of living beings. Therefore, the gods could be represented in any of those forms, or as a hybrid (Te Velde, 1980).

Animal mummification is thought to have occurred for varying reasons. Sometimes it was because the individuals were ‘beloved pets’, interred with or near their owners. Others, known as food or ‘victual mummies’, were served as funerary food supplied for the deceased in the afterlife, and formed part of the grave goods. Still others were ‘sacred animals’ that represented the presence of gods in the temple. These mummies were buried in elaborate containers and placed in designated catacombs. Many animals were mummified as ‘votive animals’ and offered by pilgrims to the gods to secure a prayer (Ikram, 2005), and then buried in catacombs or in pit-tombs by the god's priests. The latter were the most numerous type of animal mummy. Animal catacombs form one part of a complex sacred landscape, and were typically placed adjacent to temples or shrines of a specific god (Ikram, 2005, Ray, 2001).

The large number of different animals offered to the Egyptian gods indicates the significance of animal mummies to the ancient Egyptians. Literally millions can be found in many geographically separate catacombs (Ikram, 2005, Ikram, 2012). The use of birds and other animals in cultic activities is thought to have reached its zenith in the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty (664–525 BC), lasting into the Graeco-Roman Period (ending about AD 350 or slightly earlier, with the advent of Christianity and the banning of paganism) (Ikram, 2005). The most popular of these cults was that of Thoth, with burials of ibises scattered throughout Egypt (Bailleul-Le Seur, 2012, Ikram, 2012).

Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) are the most plentiful animal mummies found in the dedicated burial sites in Egypt. They were associated with Thoth (Fig. 1), the god of wisdom, writing, moon and magic, the heavenly body that was equivalent to the sun at night, and known as the ‘silver Aten’ (silver disc) in the Late Period (Kurth, 1986). The ibis, as the human hybrid form of Thoth occurs in two- and three-dimensional representations throughout Egyptian history. Ibis were not only key to cultic activities associated with Thoth, but they also played a significant role in daily life by both recycling refuse and helping to keep water clean by consuming bilharzia-carrying snails. Although it has been suggested by a variety of scholars that the practice of offering animal mummies was popular from c. 664 BC until approximately AD 350, to date no 14C dates have been published, although this technology has been used on human mummies (Dunand and Lichtenberg, 2006). This article presents the results of ¹⁴C tests carried out on Ibis mummies coming from Saqqara, Roda and Thebes (Fig. 2). We also consider the textual and archaeological evidence for the likely chronology of the practice of offering animal mummies.