A group of 2000 mummified heads of rams
Posted on 03/27/2023 8:36:57 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Excavation work carried out by an American mission from New York University at the temple of Ramses II in Abydos has stumbled upon a menagerie of mummified animals that provides previously undocumented evidence of cultic worship through the ages.
The most significant find at the site is over 2,000 mummified heads of rams from the Ptolemaic period along with other mummified ewes, dogs, wild goats, cows, gazelles and mongooses, said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The mummified remains, some still in their linen wrappings, were found stored in one of the recently discovered magazines within the temple’s northern precinct, Waziri added.
Sameh Iskander, head of the mission, noted that the discovery of this large number of mummified rams, presumably as votive offerings, placed inside the temple points to an unprecedented rams’ cultic practice in Abydos during the Ptolemaic period. It indicates that the memory of Ramses II was still revered in Abydos a thousand years after his time (1303-1213 BC).
The mission also discovered a large palatial structure with an unusual architectural layout with walls about five metres thick, which appears for the first time in Abydos, and dates to the end of the Sixth Dynasty (c.2181 BC) of the Old Kingdom.
(Excerpt) Read more at english.ahram.org.eg ...
It indicates that the memory of Ramses II was still revered in Abydos a thousand years after his time...
(psst: no it doesn't)
One of *those* topics.
Egyptians loved cats. Some even worshipped them.
My cat, Daisy, requires daily obeisance while feeding her.
https://www.history.com/news/cats-ancient-egypt
Note that the article said the animal mummies come from AFTER the time of Ramses II. It seems that the Egyptians mummified a few animals for most of their long history, but it wasn’t until the XXVI dynasty that they began doing it on a large scale, embalming enough animals that it became necessary to give them tombs and cemeteries. Aside from the Apis bulls, of course, who got their own tombs from at least the XVIII dynasty onward. By the way, last week I listened to a podcast which said that before the priests embalmed an Apis bull, they would cut off a few choice pieces, as if they believed consuming steaks from the bull would give them the strength of the gods.
Of course, giving an animal an elaborate burial was the logical conclusion to centuries of animal worship. They continued the practice into Greco-Roman times, because by then it was “the Egyptian thing to do.”
The first named cat in Egypt was Nedjem approximately 1475 B C WHICH MEANS SWEET.
mongooses?.........................
If you have cobras and vipers, you need a pet mongoose.
If you have cobras and vipers, you need a pet mongoose.
You are right!....................
As you know, I agree that the 19th and 26th dynasties are basically identical.
Yes, I was hoping you noticed I mentioned the XXVI dynasty. :)
:^)
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