If you hear “ancient Egypt,” what comes to mind? Perhaps you see the Great Pyramid of Giza with the Sphinx in the foreground, Tutankhamun’s burial mask, or some animal-headed deities. Or maybe you thought of mummies.

Mummies might certainly have come to your mind, but how much do you really know about ancient Egypt’s famously preserved denizens? They’re much more than linen-wrapped bodies with their arms crossed over their chests. Read on to see what else you may not have known about ancient Egyptian mummies.

10 The Price Of Mummification

According to the writings of a Greek traveler from 60–57 BC, it cost one talent of silver, about 30 kilograms (66 lb), for the most expensive mummification.^[1] This was during the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian history, when there was some conflict in the dynasty, which could have resulted in inflation.

The cost of the supplies of mummification today, including linen, sodium carbonate decahydrate (natron), resin, and incense, totals about $3,600. However, to be mummified today costs nearly $70,000, and various businesses actually mummify bodies of people as well as pets. Pet mummification can cost from $7,000 to over $100,000. In contrast, a funeral and burial in the United States in 2017 cost between $7,000 and $10,000 on average, and cremation cost around $1,000.

9 Medicinal Mummies

Mummies were used as medicine from AD 400 into the 19th century. The concept was based on the use of natural bitumen, which Europeans believed Egyptians were mummified with. This was entirely useless as medication, as ancient Egyptians used resin, which does mimic bitumen but has no health benefits.^[2] In fact, the resin was probably better to consume than bitumen, which has been recently found to be carcinogenic.

In the Middle Ages, the rich would buy ground-up mummies to use as medicine, and the belief in mummies being medically beneficial continued into the 1800s. When mummies were too hard to acquire, dehydrated bodies of criminals were used instead.

Human remains were also ground up and mixed with honey to create a sweet medicinal syrup. On some occasions through history, people were mummified in honey (a process known as mellification) specifically for the purpose of being turned into this medicine, claimed to be able to cure any ailment. Historically, in some regions of the world, leaders and priests were mummified in coffins of honey, but without the intention of medicinal use.

8 Animal Mummies

Egyptians raised animals to mummify them. While it’s true that Egyptians did mummify their pets, they also raised animals and killed them specifically for the purpose of mummification. These mummies were typically religious offerings, as Egyptian gods were linked to animals, and the animals were sometimes considered incarnations of the gods. For example, the goddess Bastet was related closely with cats. The animals were buried in coffins and tombs especially for the god or goddess they symbolized or were significant to.

Despite the vast amount animal mummies produced in ancient Egypt, care was taken in animal mummification, but it was not comparable to human mummification, which was incredibly elaborate and time-consuming. Most animal mummies were purchased by people making pilgrimages to temples for specific gods or goddesses. For a fee, priests would bury the animals in the graveyard of the temple as a form of homage to a god or goddess. Cats, baboons, fish, crocodiles, and bulls were among the animals that were mummified.^[3]

7 Providing For The Afterlife

Mummification was arguably the most important aspect of ancient Egyptian religious practices. Ancient Egyptians believed that mummification was necessary to gain access to the afterlife. They believed that after someone died and was properly mummified, they would have use of their physical body during their journey, which is why they preserved the bodies of the deceased.^[4]

Part of this journey was judgement by Osiris (the god of the afterlife) and 42 judges. Anubis, the god of mummification, would guide the deceased through their journey, and Thoth, the god of wisdom, weighed the soul of the deceased. The soul would also journey with Ra through the afterlife.

The religion of the ancient Egyptians was based around death and the afterlife. The increasingly elaborate practice of mummification actually became an important part of the economy of ancient Egypt, as mummies required the services of hairdressers and beauticians as well as craftsman to build sarcophagi, not to mention pyramids and less elaborate tombs.

6 Mummy Cosmetology

Mummies were heavily made up to look lifelike in addition to being preserved. During the mummification process, the bodies of mummies were colored. Men were colored red, and women were colored yellow. This began during the Third Intermediate Period. Mummies had fake eyes made of glass or stone in this period (small onions were used previously to create the illusion of eyes), and they often had wigs or yarn woven into their hair.^[5] Mummies in the Late Period were decorated with gold leaf applied directly to the skin. Some forms of modern makeup take after ancient Egyptian makeup, including kohl, a charcoal-based eyeliner.

Ancient Egyptians even painted the nails of mummies for mummification with a form of henna. Henna use as tattoos was actually an Egyptian practice, before it was explored in India. Pharaoh Ramses I was found with his nails a deep orange color, indicative of the presence of henna or another dye. Beauticians were an important aspect of Egyptian culture and were considered to be close to the goddess Hathor. Wigs were another aspect of beauty in ancient Egypt that was integral in the typical mummification process. Wigs, however, were not only for the dead, as many Egyptians shaved their heads.

5 Natural Mummies

Ancient Egyptians didn’t start using elaborate mummification procedures until after the development of their early civilization. Initially, mummies were created naturally by the desert environment of Egypt.^[6] The dead were buried in the sand, and the dry environment would preserve the bodies. Anthropologists believe that accidentally uncovered bodies which were naturally mummified in the sand, and thus recognizable years after death, encouraged the practice of mummification by demonstrating how through minimal decomposition, mummies have eternal life.

Once the Egyptians began to believe decay was unnatural, they began processes specifically to preserve the deceased, but it took 800 years for them to begin removing organs to prevent decay. In 3400 BC, Egyptians began wrapping mummies in linen, but only by 2600 BC did they consistently remove organs. It was only 5,500 years ago that mummies began being buried in tombs and sarcophagi.

Natural mummification still occurs in regions where bodies are not exposed to either air or moisture; corpses have been found preserved for hundreds and thousands of years in arid climates like the deserts of Egypt but also in tundras and submerged in bogs.

4 Arm Placement

The arm placement of mummies is actually significant. For example, arms crossed over the chest, the image most commonly associated with mummies, was very specifically used for royalty.

Predynastic mummies had their hands covering their face, with their arms bent at the elbows.^[7] The Old and Middle Kingdoms were indicated by burial with hands at the sides or occasionally crossed over the pelvis. During the period of Ramses II, mummies were preserved with arms crossed over the lower body, and arms folded with hands on the shoulders are indicative of a later period of Egyptian history. Crossed arms as typically envisioned were used only in the New Kingdom for males of royal status.

3 Cheaper Options

In ancient Egypt, lower classes could generally only afford an incomplete mummification. This wouldn’t include a coffin or sarcophagus and typically would solely involve dehydrating the body, with some or all organs remaining intact. Brains were considered the least important in ancient Egypt and were therefore the least important to remove. Early mummification and incomplete mummification frequently leaves the brain intact, which is indicated by an intact nose.^[8]

Sometimes, the very poor would only wrap the deceased in cloth and bury them in the desert sand for a few days or weeks to dry them. Then, the body cavities would be washed with solvent, and the cadaver would be buried in a cemetery. In contrast, tombs of the rich and royal were elaborately painted with inscriptions from the Book of the Dead, the Pyramid Texts, and the Coffin Texts. The divide between the rich and poor in ancient Egypt is particularly evident in burial practices.

2 Canopic Jars

Ancient Egyptians considered the lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines to be the most important in mummification. They were extracted from bodies and kept in canopic jars, which were based on four ancient Egyptian gods that were believed to guard the organs for the deceased, the four sons of Horus. Each canopic jar had a different head, one of a baboon, one of a jackal, one of a human, and one of a falcon.^[9]

It is likely that, initially, the organs were removed because their presence caused the body of the deceased to decompose more quickly. Over time, this practice religiously evolved into the belief that the organs were needed by the deceased in their journey through the afterlife.

1 The Curse Of The Mummy

The concept of cursed mummies or tombs wasn’t invented by the Egyptians but rather by sensationalist writing. The only basis of these curses are threats written on tombs of divine retribution for disrespecting the dead, for the express purpose of discouraging tomb robbers. Though some mummies did preserve ancient mold, scientists have determined the mold is not dangerous.^[10]

Written warnings against opening Egyptian tombs date back to the Middle Ages and describe the evil and supernatural qualities possessed by the mummies. The most famous purported curse is that of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, or the curse of the Pharaoh. The financier of the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb died from a mosquito-borne illness, and Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb, died 16 years later. The idea of a curse was circulated by fiction author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. On that note, Shakespeare also had a form of a curse on his grave to deter disturbance by grave robbers.

+ Non-Egyptian Mummies

The ancient Egyptians didn’t invent mummification and were not by any account the first ancient civilization to mummify their dead. Mummified bodies have been found all over the world, dating to thousands of years prior to those found in Egypt. Though stereotypically Egyptian in Hollywood, mummification became a common practice in South America starting around 6000 BC. The famous painting The Scream has been attributed to a Peruvian mummy that Edvard Munch saw in a museum.

Ice mummies are another example of South American mummification. In the Inca culture, human sacrifices left on mountaintops became essentially freeze-dried, preserving the body. In North America and Europe, accidental freezing resulted in ice mummies as well, many from the Iron Age. Though popularly considered Egyptian, mummies originate from all over the world.^[11]

Abigail Hentschke has primarily published poetry, including poems for Eber and Wein publishing company and Canvas Literary Journal.

Tutankamen tends to grab the spotlight. But there are other mummies with remarkable tales to tell. There is a boy disguised as a hawk and a priest with a baby in his coffin. A mummy called Alex has a cautionary tale for modern society while a Persian princess almost fooled the world (she was something else entirely). From the mysterious to the murderous, here are the top untold stories from the grave.

10 Facts About Ancient Egyptian Mummies You Didn’t Know

10 The Hidden Baby

In 1679, Peder Winstrup was buried at Sweden’s Lund Cathedral. In life, he had been an important bishop. In death, his body remains one of the best-preserved corpses from the 17th century. When researchers decided to study the bishop more closely, they were surprised to find a baby tucked away behind his legs.

The practice of burying babies with adults was not uncommon for the era. But for a long time, the question begged—why was the infant placed with this particular bishop? All researchers knew was that the child was a boy and that he had been stillborn.

In 2021, DNA tests revealed the two shared 25 percent of their genes. After looking at Winstrup’s family records, it became clear that the boy was not his nephew, cousin or half-brother. The bishop had a son and while there was no trace of the son’s kids, a grandchild was the only option that Winstrup’s genealogy records had not eliminated. This family connection could explain why the pair were buried together.

9 The Mummified Nests

A unique discovery in Panama City started with a fire. In 1875, a blaze swept through the Catedral Basílica Santa María la Antigua. During the restoration process, the altarpiece was repaired with gold leaf. Unbeknownst to the people fitting the gold, they sealed in several bee nests.

After 150 years, another restoration team discovered the now-mummified nests. Incredibly, the bees were perfectly preserved. This was a rare opportunity for scientists to study a very shy species. Called Eufriesea surinamensis, the bees are known for their rainbow-like faces and females that live in incredibly well-hidden nests.

The bees also gathered enough pollen to show what the ecosystem looked like 150 years ago. The insects grazed on 48 different plants and flowers and interestingly, a tea mangrove that no longer grows near Panama City.

8 Alex Wasn’t On Keto

Around 2,200 years ago, a man died in ancient Egypt. His name did not survive but thanks to the inscriptions on his coffin, his job did. The mummy, which was nicknamed Alex, appeared to have been a priest.

The Israel Museum in Jerusalem scanned Alex and made a surprising discovery. The priest ate a lot of carbs, sat too much, and avoided going outside into the sunlight. A sedentary lifestyle is considered to be a modern problem but Alex proved that ancient people also acted like couch potatoes inside their homes.

His lifestyle cost him dearly. Alex developed heart disease and osteoporosis that was so severe that it shrunk his height down to 1.5 metres (5 feet). At the time of his death, Alex was roughly 30 to 40 years old, a young age for someone with high status in the ancient world.

7 Mysterious Age Progression

From the first to the third centuries AD, some Egyptians added a loving touch to mummies. After wrapping the body, they painted a portrait of the deceased on the outside (where the person’s head would be). Researchers always wondered if these portraits were accurate pictures of the dead or random art.

In 2020, one portrait mummy was chosen for facial reconstruction. The remains belonged to a boy who died when he was 3 or 4 years old, most likely of pneumonia. Software scanned his skull and digitally reconstructed his face. The kid was then compared to his portrait.

The digital boy and the portrait matched, except for one curious detail. For some reason, the artist made him look much older in the painting. Since this was the first reconstruction of a portrait mummy, it remains unknown whether this was common practice, a special request by the family or an artist taking creative liberties with the facts.

6 The Hawk That Was Something Else

In 2018, the Maidstone Museum in England scanned one of their human mummies. Afterwards, an impulsive decision changed everything about another mummy. The team thought that, while they were busy with the scanner, why not have a look at some of the museum’s mummified animals for the first time?

One of the critters they chose was a hawk. The museum always thought that the bird was once a treasured pet The body was carefully mummified and the casing was beautifully decorated with images of hawks. But when the mummy was scanned, the skeleton was not a bird’s. At first, the bones looked like a monkey’s but then the truth dawned. It was a malformed human baby.

The boy was anencephalic, a condition that probably killed him at birth. The brain was almost nonexistent. The child also lacked most of his skull and his spine never closed. He also had a cleft palate and lip.

In ancient Egypt, children were buried in pots. The boy’s burial broke with this tradition. He was clearly valued and treated with care. But it remains unclear why he was not given a normal pot burial which, for the time, was highly unusual.

5 Takabuti’s Death Solved

The first Egyptian mummy to reach Ireland was Takabuti. She arrived in 1834 and the hieroglyphics on the casket explained that Takabuti was the daughter of a priest. She was also married and in her 20s when she died around 660 BC. But the question remained. Why did she die so young?

In modern times, Takabuti was DNA tested and scanned. Both revealed surprises. The DNA tests showed that she was related more to Europeans than modern-day Egyptians. The scans solved how she died—Takabuti was attacked from behind and violently stabbed to death. Besides this tragic discovery, another unexpected find was that she had two rare conditions. Takabuti had an extra vertebrate and also an extra tooth.

4 More Clues About A Pharaoh’s Death

A lot is known about pharaoh Seqenenre Taa II. At the core of his reign was a deadly war with the Hyksos people who occupied Egypt. His son and heir died on the battlefield but nobody knew how the pharaoh himself died.

Seqenenre Taa II’s mummy was discovered in 1886. His skull had a terrible open wound across the forehead and the body also smelled terrible. This suggested that he killed during a deliberate attack and hastily embalmed.

In 2021, a new study found more injuries. Apart from the 7-centimetre (2.75 -inch) gash across his forehead, Seqenenre Taa II also suffered trauma to his nose, cheeks and above the right eye. The pharaoh had also been stabbed at the base of his neck. Since there were no defensive wounds on his arms, he might have been tied up. The angle of the wounds also showed that he was kneeling when he was surrounded and killed with weapons like axes, swords, and blunt objects.

The manner of his death suggested that Seqenenre Taa II was captured and executed on the battlefield. If so, then the “legends” of pharaohs fighting in the trenches with their soldiers was true in Seqenenre Taa II’s case.

3 The Unexpected Head Shot

Oxford’s Natural Museum is home to a famous dodo. The bird is the only of its extinct species that still has soft tissue. Hoping to learn more about the dodo’s evolution, researchers scanned the bird’s mummified head—and found lead pellets lodged in the skull. The bird was waddling around during the 1600s when a hunter came up behind it and shot the dodo in the head.

Dodos were mercilessly hunted on their native Mauritius. For this reason, the discovery might not sound odd at all. But what made the shot so surprising was the supposed history of the Oxford specimen. According to an eye witness, the bird was living in London. It was kept as a popular curiosity so why shoot it?

Perhaps the eyewitness account was false and the bird was already dead when it arrived in Britain. But if the dodo was gunned down in Mauritius, that leaves another mystery. How was the carcass preserved for the long journey back to Britain when nobody had the skills to mummify it?

2 The Pregnant Mummy

In the 19th century, the University of Warsaw welcomed a new Egyptian mummy. They were delighted to know that the individual was important. According to the writing on the elaborate coffin, it contained a priest called Hor-Djehuty.

But the “mummy trade” back in the day was riddled with dishonesty. Sellers often pulled a switcheroo. They would get a mummy—any mummy—and place it inside a coffin to sell. Recent scans and investigations have ousted many of these scams. In 2016, Hor-Djehuty’s remains were x-rayed and the University’s worst fears were confirmed. The body did not belong to the priest but an unknown woman.

Any disappointment quickly vanished when somebody noticed the baby. The scan showed that the woman was 6 or 7 months pregnant and for some inexplicable reason, the infant was not removed during mummification. Indeed, the woman remains the world’s only pregnant mummy.

1 The Broken Body

In the year 2000, Pakistani police nabbed several people who tried to sell a mummy. The confiscated artefact was sent to the National Museum in Karachi and soon, a news conference announced that the body belonged to a Persian princess who died about 600 BC. The find was so rare that Iran and Pakistan fought over which country owned the royal mummy.

Then the fairytale discovery started to fall apart. The writing on her breastplate, which revealed her name and family, had grammatical mistakes. Her name was also a red flag. She was referred to as Rhodugune, which was more Greek than Persian. The reed mat under the body was also just 50 years old.

Experts feared that it was another random ancient mummy adorned with fake royal stuff to fetch a higher price. The truth was more bizarre. The woman was not ancient. She died around 1996 from a broken neck. A blow from a blunt object had also fractured her spine.

There are a lot of unanswered questions. Who was she? What happened the day she died and who mummified her body?

Top 10 Iconic Places Pictured From Behind

Mummies are media darlings. Even so, some slip through the cracks and don’t make it big. But these forgotten ancients, or the lesser-known tales about bandaged celebrities, can still be immensely intriguing. Discover why mummies with headlice make scientists smile, meet the luckiest body in Pompeii, and marvel at the bizarre behavior of the living who are involved with mummies, including looters, collectors, and inept museum staff.

Here are ten underreported stories about mummies.

Related: 10 Amazing Reconstructed Faces From History

10 The Empty Coffin Mystery

In 1860, an ancient Egyptian coffin arrived at the Nicholson Museum in Sydney. Unfortunately, someone mistakenly marked the coffin as “empty” except for unimportant mixed debris. This blooper caused the artifact to languish in the museum’s collection for almost 160 years. In 2017, the staff finally looked at the 2,500-year-old coffin.

Surprisingly, a CT scanner showed that the sarcophagus contained a mummy. The person’s skeleton was a mess and jumbled between bandages, beads, and other items. Hieroglyphics suggested that the bones belonged to a noblewoman called Mer-Neith-it-es. But since the coffin was purchased from an antiquities market in the 1850s, a time when it was common to fill a sarcophagus with any human remains, it remains debatable whether this is really Mer-Neith-it-es.^[1]

9 The Sick Murder Victim

In ancient times, South America had its perks. Great architects created advanced cities that still confound us today with their precision and beauty. But violence was also a part of everyday life. A new study, which concluded in 2022, found that not even those who were sick could expect mercy once someone had murder on their mind.

During the investigation, a CT scanner buzzed a pre-Columbian mummy dating between 996 and 1147. It revealed that he had been brutally murdered. The twenty-something had a severe case of tuberculosis, but despite being obviously ill, someone had bobbed him on the head (quite hard) and also stabbed him in the back.

Illness wasn’t the only thing stacked against the victim. Researchers believe that he was possibly cornered by two attackers on that fateful day.^[2]

8 Mummy Headlice Are Valuable

In 2021, headlice finally got their moment in the sun. Well, at least in the laboratory. Researchers discovered the glue that female lice use to fix their eggs to a person’s hair can sometimes preserve human skin cells. In this case, the lice gum was between 1,500 and 2,000 years old and was found on mummies from San Juan in Argentina, Chile, and Amazonian Ecuador.

The glue contained cells from the hosts’ scalps, and surprisingly, the cells were not only well-preserved but also yielded more DNA than other common methods of extraction. While the low position of the gum on the hair shaft showed that some of the people died in very cold conditions, the DNA revealed the gender of each mummy and, remarkably, some of their migration patterns.

Thanks to their nits, researchers discovered that San Juan’s first inhabitants originally came from the North Amazonian plains. As a bonus, the cells also contained the oldest example of Merkel cell Polyomavirus, a virus that sometimes causes skin cancer.^[3]

7 The Head in the Attic

When an unnamed man recently passed away, his brother inherited a house in Kent, England. While clearing out the property, the brother made a grisly find. There was a mummified head in the attic. The body was nowhere in sight (and was never found), but the noggin was turned over to scientists who identified it as belonging to an ancient Egyptian mummy.

But who was missing a head, and how did an Egyptian relic end up in a Kent attic? A CT scan provided a few clues about the deceased. The head belonged to an adult woman with worn teeth who died nearly 2,000 years ago.

Bizarrely, tubes made with unknown materials were discovered in her left nostril and spinal canal. It remains to be seen whether the tubes are ancient or modern additions. Even more mysterious, nobody knows who brought her to England except that the Kent homeowner got the woman’s head from someone called “Dr. Coates.”^[4]

6 The Sewage Floaters

Tomb robbing remains a problem in Egypt. One way the authorities protect the graves is to impose strict laws and punishment. But such measures can backfire. Nobody wants to be caught holding the mummy after looting a tomb. In 2015, news reached the police that a couple of mummies had appeared rather suspiciously near a village in Minya. The moment the cops laid eyes on the artifacts wasn’t pretty. The coffins were drifting in a sewage canal.

Unsurprisingly, nobody came forward. But it’s easy to imagine how the mummies ended up in such an unsavory condition. Tomb raiders probably found a grave, pocketed smaller valuable items, and tried to escape with the coffins. But after finding them too cumbersome, the bodies were dumped.

After the rescue, the mummies were found to be badly disintegrated due to water damage, but despite their deplorable condition, they weren’t thrown away a second time. Instead, the bodies were taken to a museum for restoration and research.^[5]

5 The Lucky Pompeii Guy

Marcus Secundio was a lucky man in life and death. Regarding the latter, he was a Pompeii resident spared the horrors of the famous eruption because he had passed away a few years earlier. So when archaeologists discovered his tomb—and stunningly preserved mummy—outside the city, they encountered a life that went from zero to hero.

Inscriptions revealed that Marcus was a former slave. Once freed, he climbed the social ladder and became a wealthy priest. The mention that he spoke both Latin and Greek became the first proof that Greek sermons were held in the Italian city of Pompeii. Marcus also married and eventually passed away in his 60s.

But a few mysteries remain. During his lifetime, cremation was the most popular way to give the dead a sendoff. Why was Marcus’s burial different? Researchers also hope to understand how he was mummified because nearly 2,000 years on, his body remains unusually preserved.^[6]

4 The Mummy with Four Feet

In 2000, the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, Washington, decided to restore its Egyptian mummy. Affectionately called “Nellie,” she dated between 305 and 34 BC. The first step was to gauge the degree of restoration necessary, which called for a CT scan.

The staff expected to see images of bones and tissues. But Nellie’s insides were a shocking mess of missing bones, chicken wire, sponge, and fake body parts. These additions were traced back to a disastrous attempt in the 1960s to give the mummy a better shape.

The previous researchers removed most of Nellie’s own bones and then rounded the upper body with wire and sponge, something that caused a lot of damage. But perhaps the most bizarre decision was to remove her feet (these were later found in the museum) and replace them with a foot that belonged to another mummy and a plaster cast of that same foot.^[7]

3 Ötzi Has Family

Ötzi is a mummified superstar. After he was discovered in the Italian Alps in 1991, the 5,300-year-old murder victim became more famous with each bit of information scientists teased from his body. Today, those who follow his story know all about his medical conditions, tattoos, what he ate last, what he wore, and the wounds that ultimately claimed his life.

In 2013, scientists decided to look for his living relatives. They turned to blood donors in Austria. However, these donors didn’t specifically submit their vein juice to discover if they were related to one of the most famous mummies in existence. They were just blood donors, and their DNA was readily available.

This blood bank produced 19 men with the same ancestors as Ötzi. They may not be the only ones, either. There is a chance that more living relatives might exist in regions near the Swiss and Italian Alps.^[8]

2 The Pickled Baby

In 2021, archaeologists discovered another first—a pregnant mummy. Nicknamed the “Mysterious Lady,” she died about 2,000 years ago in Egypt. Tragically, the woman was also between six and seven months pregnant at the time of her death.

Despite the sad circumstances, the scientists were agog. Sure, an expecting mummy is rare, but that wasn’t the reason why jaws dropped. The surprising part was how the fetus had been preserved. For the lack of a better phrase, the researchers described the process as being similar to that of pickling an egg.

In short, when an egg is kept in an acidic liquid, the shell dissolves, but the rest is preserved. The baby was also exposed to an acidic environment. After death, the mother’s blood pH became more acidic, and the embalmers also used natron, a salt mixture that increased acid levels. This preserved the baby along with a mystery. Why were the fetus and womb left intact when the mummification procedure called for the removal of all organs?^[9]

1 An Embalmer’s Mistake

We’ve all heard the horror stories. A patient wakes up after surgery only to discover that the doctor has forgotten a scalpel or clamp inside them. Apparently, this type of medical mishap is not new. In 2008, a scanner detected a forgotten tool in someone’s skull, but this was not a modern individual. Instead, the body belonged to a 2,400-year-old woman from ancient Egypt.

The Croatian museum where she was kept didn’t know much about her, except that she died in her 40s. In 2008, a CT scan meant to discover more about her life instead found the embalming mishap. The scientists were delighted. It’s extremely difficult to identify embalming instruments, and finding one lodged inside a mummy’s skull was almost like a neon sign saying, “This is a brain removal tool!” The rare artifact measured 3 inches (8 centimeters) long, had a tubular shape, and was made of wood.

The embalmers might’ve been aware of the situation. Instead of not noticing that the tool was gone, the tube might’ve broken off during the procedure, and feeling that recovery would be too bothersome, they simply abandoned it. After all, who would ever find out…?^[10]

The word “mummy” was derived from the Persian/Arabic word mummiya, which means “tar,” as the ancient Arabs initially thought that the weirdly wrapped bodies uncovered from their ancient tombs were covered in the sticky black substance. However, the ancient Egyptians not only mummified their deceased human counterparts but also mummified animals—in the millions.

From sacrifices made to the gods to pets buried together with their owners, the eventual nationwide mania around the animal mummification industry came to require such large numbers of live animals that large-scale farms, resources, and extra staff to breed and look after an incredible range of animals almost became the norm. Over 70 million animals were mummified and buried in Egypt’s catacombs. We thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the most incredible mummified animals discovered so far.

10 The Crocodile Mummy

The ancient Egyptians revered crocodiles as the manifestation of the crocodile god Sobek, and hundreds were mummified after their death. The nationwide supply and demand for mummified crocodiles were significant in ancient Egypt. Tens of thousands were bred and held in captivity only to be put to death and expertly mummified as sacrifices to the gods. Archaeologists also recently confirmed what has been suspected for a long time, that crocodiles were stalked and hunted, a truly hazardous pastime, to help sustain the frenzy.

Researchers in France were genuinely shocked when they discovered a massive skull fracture during a virtual necropsy on one of the crocodile mummies currently in the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, France. It was, in fact, the first evidence ever uncovered to confirm the hunting of these wild animals to be sold and turned into animal mummies.^[1]

9 The Lion Mummies

Lions held a powerful status in ancient Egypt, as they were considered the most formidable hunter in the wild and an everlasting symbol of peril and protection. It is a well-known fact that Pharaohs took part in lion-hunting expeditions to display their own superiority, including Amenhotep III, who murdered at least 102 lions during the first decade of his reign. Until recently, Egyptologists have only uncovered one lion mummy, leading many to wonder if they were, in fact, very rare or whether we were looking for them in the wrong places.

Finally, during an archeological dig in Saqqara in November 2019, a team of archaeologists led by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities disclosed that they had discovered five more lion mummies, believed to be cubs, in the necropolis of Bubasteion—which is literally a cat mummy catacomb. The mummified cubs are believed to have been around eight months old at the time of their death and are about 3 feet (1 meter) in length. They were uncovered along with a wide assortment of timber and bronze sculptures of cats and other mummified animals, including snakes and reptiles. The artifacts have been dated to Egypt’s 26th Dynasty—around 664–525 BC.^[2]

8 The Millions of Ibis Mummies

The Ibis cult was widely observed during the Roman and Ptolemaic eras and was devoted to Thoth, the god of wisdom. Carbon dating research conducted in 2015 revealed that the Egyptian ibis mummies were all created in the period between 450 and 250 BC. The sheer amount of mummified ibises is incredible. Saqqara alone contains almost 500,000 of these mummies, and it is also believed to have obtained an additional 10,000 mummified sacrifices every year. If that figure is not staggering enough, we should all take a moment to think about the other four million ibis mummies discovered in the catacombs of Tuna el-Gebel.

Ibis mummification included evisceration and desiccation. Generally, the bird’s neck and head would be bent backward and pressed back onto the body. It would then be immersed in tar and finally tightly wrapped in linen. The substantial number of mummified ibises clearly shows that it was, in all probability, done during mass production, as several of the mummies recovered contained only partial mummies with certain body parts excluded or added to other mummies. After satisfying the ceremonial purposes, the mummified bodies were inserted in clay pots, wooden coffins, and sarcophagi.^[3]

7 The Numerous Cat Mummies

The Egyptians were definitely cat people. Or cat mummy people, depending on how you look at it. Domestic cats were often mummified as religious sacrifices in large amounts and were claimed to represent Bastet, the goddess of war. The cult of Bastet was located primarily around Beni Hasan and Thebes during the Ptolemaic period. Thousands of cat mummies have also been found throughout the Saqqara catacombs. Cats farmed for the sole reason of sacrifice typically died due to broken necks or strangulation. During mummification, their bodies would be left to dry and were then packed with soil, mud, or another kind of packing material. They were usually positioned in a sitting position with their limbs folded next to their bodies. The linen wrapped around their bodies was often decorated with elaborate, decorative designs.

In the earlier days of cat mummification, the mummies were often placed in small bronze or timber sarcophagi. The most pricey mummies were usually decorated with facial features that would be painted on with black paint and could have obsidian, rock crystal, or even colored pieces of glass for eyes. Archeologists have also found several cat mummies that included the bodies of small kittens or fetuses buried within the adult cat. However, as time went by, the mummies became less elaborate, and mummifications lost some of their consistency.^[4]

6 Saqqara’s Mummified Cobras

Times were hard if you happened to be a snake in Thebes from the late Egyptian period to Egypt’s Roman period when they were considered to be one of the sacred animals of the god Amun. They were also associated with regeneration and rebirth due to their ability to shed their skins. Many snake mummies were wrapped in linen; others were inserted into beautifully designed bronze containers and sacrificed to Atum in shrines and cemeteries. One specific cemetery, Amara West, contained a “shrine” with a string of snake burials connected to it. Although not mummified, this cemetery had hundreds of python skeletons that could possibly be linked to a Nubian snake cult.

Archaeological digs at Saqqara have also uncovered several mummies containing Egyptian cobras wrapped in tight bundles. From high-tech 3D scans, researchers have been able to see spinal fractures, which the group believes occurred in a “whipping” procedure where the cobras would be held by the tail and smashed to death by beating their heads to the ground. The cobras were so well preserved that researchers could even verify significant kidney damage, which indicates that these reptiles were probably dehydrated at the time of death, demonstrating the horrible conditions in which they were kept. Even the resin placed inside their jaws could be identified, believed to have been placed there to keep their mouths open in order to be able to speak, eat, and breathe in the afterlife.^[5]

5 Mummified Baboons

As god of the moon and the god of wisdom, it was probably a very high honor for baboons to represent the god Thoth. The depictions of baboons on the funerary jars that contained the significant organs of their human mummy counterparts are a testimony to the enormous religious and cultural significance of the mammals. Baboons were bred and reared in high volumes at temples, although the number of baboon mummies uncovered to date has yet to reach the figures we’ve seen with cats and ibises.

About 400 baboon mummies were unearthed at the catacombs of the now-almost notorious Saqqara. Virtually all the baboons were mummified by utilizing plaster and subsequent burial in wooden chests. The baboon mummies uncovered to date have further shown compelling evidence that they were bred for the sole purpose of mummification and religious sacrifice. None of the baboons died from natural causes, and almost all of them suffered from severe fractures, osteomyelitis, malnutrition, and severe vitamin D deficiency.^[6]

4 Scarab Beetles

In November 2018, archaeologists in Egypt came across an incredibly rare collection of scarab beetle mummies. Their find also included a perfectly breathtaking fifth-dynasty tomb (previously undiscovered) which they opened within the following months. The scarab beetle mummies were found with an assortment of other artifacts spread over seven tombs located on the boundary of King Userkaf’s pyramid complex in the south of Cairo.

According to Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry, the breakthrough discovery included two quite significant scarab beetle mummies in cloth discovered on the inside of a limestone sarcophagus with such a beautifully decorated and vaulted lid that the whole crew was astounded by its excellent condition. A further collection of incredibly well-preserved scarab beetle mummies was discovered inside another relatively small sarcophagus. The Ministry has revealed that the finding of mummified scarab beetles is absolutely remarkable. It’s an extremely rare discovery that most archaeologists may never discover throughout their entire lives.^[7]

3 Mummified Bulls

The Apis bull cult emerged as early as 800 BC and is the very first Egyptian cult that could be verified by archaeological finds. The first and most significant among all of ancient Egypt’s animal cults, the Apis bull cult, believed the bull to be a symbol of power, strength, and fertility, as it represented the creator gods Osiris and Ptah. Their ultimate mummification played a crucial part in the daily veneration of these animals. While alive, the bull was accommodated inside a distinctive shrine, luxuriously coddled during his lifetime. Priests presumed that the Apis bull was a means of interaction between the two different gods of creation, so much so that the bull’s activities and gestures were meticulously observed. It was often consulted as the cult’s oracle.

The Apis bulls were allowed to die a natural death unless they reached the age of 28 years—at which point they would be sacrificed. After the death of the Apis bull, the whole nation went into mourning. It was provided with an extravagant burial accompanied by complex funerary guidelines. Because of their size, the mummification process was complex and tedious.

Immense embalming tables have been discovered in Memphis, the cult’s center. These tables were beautifully engraved and even featured drainage channels. The bull’s body would have been dried through the use of natron salts and eventually crammed full of sand before being wrapped in several layers of cloth. Synthetic eyes and an aesthetic ceramic head would’ve been added as a final touch to ensure that the bull maintained its features.^[8]

2 An Egyptian Queen’s Pet Gazelle

One of the most intriguing animal mummies ever found was that of an Egyptian queen’s pet gazelle. The beautifully preserved gazelle was prepared for its eternal afterlife with about the same extravagant treatment as any other member of its ancient royal family. It followed its queen to its final resting place about 945 BC, protected and swathed with delicate blue-trimmed linen and a handcrafted wooden casket. Many historians believe the gazelle probably belonged to Isetemkheb D—an Egyptian queen who lived around 1070–945 BC and was buried in the royal cache only publicly known as “DB320.”

The mummy and its gazelle-shaped wooden casket (put together from multiple wooden planks, presumably sycamore, fastened with pivot bearings) can now be found in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Both the interior as well as the exterior of the exquisite casket are coated with a thick layer of alabaster plaster. The outside was covered with black paint, while the inside was painted entirely white. After its death, the gazelle’s internal organs were packed back into its body and filled with fine sand, which helped maintain its original shape.^[9]

1 A Pharaoh’s Hunting Dog

Affectionately preserved, one of the incredible discoveries found in the Valley of Kings was a Pharaoh’s hunting dog whose dressings had fallen off a long time ago. While alive, the dog would have been spoiled rotten, receiving the best scraps from the recent hunts and, quite possibly, sleeping in luxury. After his death, the dog received its carefully prepared tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

In ancient Egypt, dogs were treated very much the same as today. They could be found as pets, herders, guardians, and even employed as “police” dogs. Quite a few dog breeds ran around in ancient Egypt, with the most common (and very good for hunting) being the Basenji, Greyhound, and Saluki. From the earliest dynasties, the Egyptians worshiped numerous jackal gods, the most notable being Anubis. He was usually portrayed as a canine or a canine led by a human being.

Historically, the Anubis creature was identified as a jackal. However, its ordinarily black coloration, symbolic of rebirth and the afterlife, isn’t really common to jackals, and it may, in fact, represent a wild dog. Because jackals and dogs usually roamed the desert on the fringes of societies where the dead were traditionally buried, they were often viewed as the guardians of the dead.^[10]