How crocodiles became hiding places and helped study Ancient Egypt (7 photos)

At the end of the 19th century, when the world was gripped by Egyptomania, archaeologists found dozens of mummies during excavations, but not people, but... crocodiles.





This upset them greatly, but in fact there was simply great value in these reptiles from the past. So why did archaeologists later rethink their approach to crocodile mummies, and how did they help in the study of ancient Egypt?

An unfortunate find

In the 19th century, a massive fascination with Ancient Egypt began in Western culture, which would later be called Egyptomania. Archaeologists from different countries went in search of historical artifacts, gold and, of course, human mummies. This obsession was understandable: in addition to interest in history, the idea of ​​man returning from the dead was very widespread in the West. So the mummies, which were preserved for several millennia, only fueled these ideas.



Americans on an excursion in Giza, including Phoebe Hearst, who is sponsoring an expedition to Egypt

In 1899, an American university expedition was conducted in northern Egypt. Excavations were carried out on the territory of the ancient city of Tebtunis, of which only ruins remained. And during the excavations, instead of the human mummies that scientists were so eager to see, they found something they did not expect to find - mummies of crocodiles. Instead of rejoicing at the discovery, archaeologists perceived their discovery as an annoying obstacle that prevented them from finding truly valuable exhibits.





There is even a story that one of the archaeologists was very upset when he once again discovered a crocodile. Out of frustration, he threw the mummy, it split into pieces, and it turned out that it was stuffed with papyri.

Trying to appease the crocodiles

Crocodiles were a constant threat to the ancient Egyptians. At that time they lived in all regions along the Nile. There were simply a huge number of them, the local swamps and swamps were teeming with them. People were afraid of crocodiles, and reptiles inspired them with awe. And this is not surprising, because these predators took not only in numbers, they were also huge: males reached six meters in length. And although crocodiles primarily ate fish, they also attacked people. Since they were dangerous animals and inspired fear, the Egyptians cajoled them, so they turned crocodiles into gods.



Relief from the Temple of Kom Ombo

This is how the cult of the crocodile appeared in Egypt. The Egyptians even had a city called Crocodilopolis, and in their mythology there was a god named Sebek with the head of a crocodile. Temples were dedicated to him, offerings were made, prayers were read, and in order to appease him, mummies were created. Sebek was one of the main gods of the Egyptian pantheon, but there were other deities who were represented to the Egyptians in the form of crocodiles. Sebek was considered the patron saint of the Nile, and the harvest of the Egyptians and their lives directly depended on this river. Therefore, traditionally, before the Nile flooded in August, offerings were made to Sebek so that the Nile would properly nourish the soil and there would be a good harvest.



There were also priests who mummified crocodiles in order to sacrifice them to deities. Temple servants carefully wrapped the carcasses of crocodiles in the same material in which they wrapped people, with the same care and diligence. And so that the mummy retained its shape, they were stuffed with papyrus that had served its purpose. These papyri with records were no longer needed by the Egyptians, but for modern scientists they turned out to be invaluable.



Papyrus that was once found in a crocodile mummy

And the most interesting thing is that the papyri contained completely different notes. These include personal letters, prayers, descriptions of sacrifices and rituals, official petitions, royal decrees, and wills - in general, everything that the ancient Egyptians lived by. These papyri showed the most ordinary life, everyday life, and way of life of the Egyptians. The priests did not need them, but for historians it turned out to be an amazing discovery that helps shed light on worldly life.



Mummy of a crocodile from the 1899 expedition, California Museum.

This is how, during an expedition in 1899, a crocodile mummy stuffed with papyrus was accidentally discovered, which forced scientists to reconsider their approach to excavations. True, researchers of that time did not take out papyri with particular care: they simply broke mummies for the sake of papers. But still, several ancient crocodiles have survived to this day: they can be seen in some museums around the world. For example, 19 mummies are kept at the University of California, which sponsored that very trip of the 19th century.