Object Details
- Collector
- Dr. H. Abbott
- Donor Name
- Brooklyn Museum
- Site Name
- Dashur (Dahshur)
- From card: "Late Ptolemaic to Early Roman Period (200 B.C. - 200 A.D.)" See accession history for detailed info. on collection/donation of this artifact and the others in this collection.
- From NMNH Exhibit Hall "Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt" label for this artifact, 2011: Bull mummy, 300 B.C.-A.D. 400. Although at least nine layers of wrappings protect this bull, the x-ray below reveals only a jumble of bones inside. Some scholars suggest that priests or the king ate the meat to partake of the god's powers. Embalmers mummified the head, however, and held a ritual to allow the bull to see, eat, and hear forever. Divine Bull. This bull lived like a god in a special stable within the temple walls. Priests massaged his body, decorated his horns with ornaments of silver, and even sang to him. Egyptians saw him as a living manifestation of a god, and worshippers filled the temple daily to honor him. When the bull died, Egyptians believed he went on to eternal life, and a young bull with the same distinctive markings took his place. Many temples honored other sacred animals - for example, crocodiles that embodied the god Sobek in the temple at Kom Ombo, and cats of Bastet at Bubastis. When a divine bull died, the entire region fell into mourning. Priests held an elaborate funeral and buried him in an underground niche.
- Record Last Modified
- 16 Jul 2017
- Specimen Count
- 1
- Culture
- Late Ptolemaic/Roman
- Accession Date
- 4 Jun 1956
- Accession Number
- 209589
- USNM Number
- A413942-0
- Object Type
- Animal Mummy
- Height - Object
- 86 cm
- Depth - Object
- 89 cm
- Width - Object
- 113.5 cm
- Place
- Dashur (Dahshur), Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa
- See more items in
- Anthropology
- NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
- Topic
- Archaeology
- Record ID
- nmnhanthropology_8162347
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/342451350-d66c-4bd3-b366-ddff424e50ac
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