Pseudo Mummied Falcon

This mummy is in the shape of the god Osiris, with false head, wide shoulders and feet. This shape is usually one used to contain falcons (and other raptors) but radiographs reveal it is largely empty, with only a small group of bones, too small to be identified. The ‘dummy mummy’ (sometimes called pseudo-mummies) is very well bandaged and fixed by numerous concentric windings of thin yarn. Tracey Seddon, the conservator who prepared the mummy for exhibition, noticed a very tiny feather trapped beneath a thin winding of yarn. The mummy was included in the Ancient Egyptian Animal Bio Bank Project (2016) for radiographic analysis (X-ray and CT scanning), specimen no. AEABB674: Osirion-shaped mummy bundle displaying an extensive air void surrounding a core, consisting of fragmented skeletal remains and a granular substance. This core is placed within the central part of the bundle, elongated with linen and given a false head and feet. It is likely that the central area of the bundle is spongey to the touch due to the air void, so the mummy should be positioned flat for display or storage. The wrappings appear to have been applied in stages and secured with horizontal bands. Isolation of the skeletal elements from the CT scan data was not able to confirm a positive identification due to the highly fragmented nature of the remains. CONDITION NOTE 1998: Cords coming off, fraying of fabric, discoloured, surface dirt, slightly flexible.