Polish archaeologists excavating the Necropolis have found crocodile heads in ancient Egyptian tombs in Thebes. The Thebes necropolis is an area on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes (Luxor) in Upper Egypt. It was used for burial rituals for most of the Pharaonic period, especially during the New Kingdom.
Archaeologists from the Center for Mediterranean Archeology at the University of Warsaw have been excavating the Elasasif necropolis, just west of the bridge leading to the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, according to the Heritage Daily website.
The Polish team has placed two tombs under study since 2013
The team has studied two tombs in the cemetery since 2013, one of which belongs to "Shetty", an important official in the era of the pharaohs, called Nebahtra Mentuhotep II (reigned from 2055 to 2002 BC), and the second is one of those who served in the royal court.
Archaeologists recently discovered in the two tombs the heads of nine crocodiles wrapped in cloth, not embalmed, nor given any special treatments to preserve them.
The skulls belonged to members of the family Crocodylus niloticus, a large crocodile that lives in freshwater habitats in Africa.
Only fragments of the skull and lower jaw survived, likely due to an earlier excavation a century earlier by Herbert Winlock, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as researchers at the time paid little attention to the animal remains and threw them in a heap.
Crocodiles in ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, crocodiles were worshiped in the form of the god Sobek, as Sobek was associated with the Nile crocodile or the West African crocodile and was represented either in the form of a real crocodile, or as a human with a crocodile head.
Sobek was also associated with Pharaonic strength, fertility, and military prowess, but he was also a deity with energetic qualities, who were especially fortified to protect against the dangers posed by the Nile.
Thu, Dec. 22, 2022
