Why did the Egyptians mummify animals?

Why did the Egyptians mummify animals?

 "The ancient Egyptians loved animals so much that they embalmed them as if they were people both to be accompanied in eternal life and to offer them to the gods".

 Salima Ikram

 In ancient Egypt, the corpses of the deceased were mummified so that they could be preserved intact in the afterlife.  The body thus acted as a physical refuge for the soul and the dead became a divine being, capable of living eternally.  But it wasn't just people who were mummified: some animals were also subjected to this process. 

 The museums preserve a large number of mummies of the most diverse species, from dung beetles to fish, from cats to crocodiles and bulls.

 As the incarnation of the god Thoth, the baboon was cared for and fed by the priests.  After his death he was embalmed to be venerated in the catacombs of Tuna el-Gebel, in Upper Egypt.

 Mummification is basically a process of drying and eliminating fats to preserve a body from decomposition.  The techniques used with animals varied depending on the size, type of skin and the possible presence of feathers or wings.  The mummification procedures then differed according to the area and were modified over time.  In the most common form, embalmers extracted the entrails from the corpse, washed it, dried it with linen cloths, and then dried and degreased it by coating it with natron, a salt formed from sodium carbonate and water.

 After drying, which could take from 15 to 50 days depending on the animal, the body was cleaned and covered with resins to prevent the formation of bacteria, and then it was anointed with sacred oils.  Finally he was wrapped in linen bandages and placed in a sarcophagus, or buried.  The birds were gutted and then dipped in a mixture of resin and oil.  In other cases, such as that of crocodiles, the entrails were not removed.

 Much loved animals

 Animal mummies were of different types.  An important group was made up of pets.  The ancient Egyptians, as is the case today, were very fond of their pets and wanted to have them next to them for eternity.  

Dogs, cats, monkeys and gazelles were carefully embalmed and often placed in a sarcophagus.  In some cases they were buried with their masters.  A certain Hapi-Min, for example, who probably lived around 300 BC, was found in a coffin with a dog at his feet.  

A couple buried in Saqqara, on the other hand, shared the tomb with a real zoo: dogs, cats, baboons and vervets (the genus of monkeys that includes, among others, the macaque).  This indicates that as early as the 14th century BC  there was a trade in exotic animals.

 Even the pharaohs wanted their pets alongside.  In the tomb KV50 of the Valley of the Kings, for example, the mummies of a baboon and a hunting dog were found, possibly of Amenhotep II (buried in KV35) or of Horemheb (in KV57). 

 The gazelle of Queen Isitemkheb, on the other hand, was found in the tomb of her mistress inside a coffin with the shape of an animal.

 Taken from storicang.it