Cathy's Art Diary

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.  

Fabulous exhibition at the British Museum looking at the lives of eight people who lived along the Nile from 3500 BC to 700 AD by examining a CT scan of their mummified bodies. The scans were amazing and a good way of finding out what’s inside a mummy without unwrapping it and disturbing the remains and artefacts. One of the mummies had extensive amulets on their body and as the commentary said if you had unwrapped it these would have moved and you wouldn’t know exactly where they had been. However the scan showed them in situ including a lovely eagle on her throat. In the case next to the scan they display 3D printed version of the amulets; the first time I have seen 3D printing in an exhibition. I found it most moving when you knew the name of the person eg Padiamenet, the temple door keeper, whose scan was shown upright so it appears as if he is standing in our space. There were also some really touching artefacts such as a wooden toy horse and a wig dating from 135...