Mummified bird, probably a sparrowhawk, wrapped in linen bandages.
In the culture of Ancient Egypt, animals played a major role. Hence, they were mummified for different reasons. Research assumes that animal mummies were weather beloved pets that were buried with their owners or that they were intended to serve as nourishment in the afterlife. Two more categories of animal mummies are the sacred animals that represent a deity or votive offerings that served as sacrifice for a deity. The latter was the most common form. From the Late Period on until the Roman period of the Ancient Egypt animal mummies were produced resp. offered as sacrifice and buried on a massive scale.
The function of bird mummies is not conclusively clarified. Probably, however, they mainly belong to the group of votive offerings. Regarding sparrow hawks, it is possible that they were, like falcons, also mummified because of their meaning as incarnation of the deity Horus.
Gift of Professor Carl Dieterlen (1836 - 1922) for the Gewerbemuseum (Museum of Applied Arts) Ulm in 1913.
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