Label Text(91.80.110.a,b,d)
These mummies contain newly hatched (or neonatal) crocodiles. Excavations at Medinet Madi in the Fayum revealed that the eggs of the sacred crocodiles were kept and allowed to hatch in a building next to the temple of Sobek, the crocodile god of the Nile. After they hatched, the crocodiles were sacrificed, mummified, and sold to devotees who could dedicate them to the god at a local temple.
(Sarah Schellinger, 2018)
(91.80.110.c)
This mummy consists of the front half of a neonatal crocodile. The X-ray to the right shows the partial skeleton of a juvenile crocodile including the head, forelimbs, and part of the spine. This crocodile broke in half, revealing the scales on the underside of its abdomen shown in the image to the right.
(Sarah Schellinger, 2018)