Votive animal mummies represent one of the four categories of animal mummies identified so far, alongside pet, victual, and sacred animal mummies. It surged in popularity during the New Kingdom (ca. 1550-1069 BCE) and continued to expand between the Third Intermediate Period and the Roman Period (ca. 1069 BCE-380 CE).
Although not sacred in themselves, some creatures, such as cats, dogs, hawks, ibises, crocodiles, snakes, fish, shrews, and baboons, were associated with the specific strengths of some deities, to which they represent the hypostasis. These animals were deliberately killed and mummified to be sold as votive offerings to worshippers. Through the mummification process these sacred avatars reached a semi-divine status, so their soul might move through the earthly and spiritual worlds, acting as messengers through whom believers might easily address their concerns to the gods. After being donated to the associated gods at their temples, millions of mummies were buried in sacred necropoles throughout Egypt. As a result, votive animal mummies represent one of the largest category of artifacts produced in Ancient Egypt.
Why
In the 19th century, animal mummies emerged among the most popular souvenirs brought home by Victorian travelers. When the interest in these curios gradually decreased, animal mummies began to be used in papermaking, as wrappings supplied the high demand of rags used in newspaper production, and fertilizer industries, as the use of bone manure during the Victorian era was extremely common.
The incessant exploitation of animal mummies for a variety of purposes as well as the unconventional and unrecorded removal of them from their burial places caused an unavoidable loss of data. Most votive animal mummies are unprovenanced and it is difficulty to connect them with specific places of production and/or within a more refined time frame. The application of radiocarbon dating is restricted by its high cost, the curators reticence to samplings, and the struggle to collect suitable samples of the mummy under the wrappings without causing damages. Even more complicated is to determine their geographical provenience, as there are no scientific investigations which can provide to assign a geographic provenience to the mummies. The only aspect on which who produced them in a precise place and period left his signature are the wrapping patterns. SEAMS aims to delve into the subject to trace the contextual data of votive animal mummies in a thoroughly non-invasive and cost-effective way.