Scanning Sobek: mummy of the crocodile god

Interesting display at the British Museum investigating the mummified remains of a crocodile.

The crocodile had come from one of the temples at Kom Ombo dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek who was venerated for fertility and for its association with the annual Nile flood. This creature had been bred there and kept in a sacred pool. Over 300 crocodile mummies had been found there.

I loved the animation of the scan of the mummy which ran constantly which built up and stripped away the layers. It revealed cow bones, the remains of its last meal, and stones, which it swallowed to aid digestion and as ballast.

Most moving however was that it had been mummified along with over 2000 hatchlings which covered it’s body. If you looked carefully you could see these tiny crocodiles all over its back.

Closes 21 February 2016.

 

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