Crocodile remains discovered in Early Middle Kingdom Tombs in Egypt
Archaeologists excavating the North Asasif Necropolis in Western Thebes in Egypt have made the extraordinary discovery of the remains of nine crocodile heads placed inside two tombs belonging to high-ranking nobles.
The site is located in the early Middle Kingdom necropolis in the valley of North Asasif.
The crocodile skeletal remains were not mummified, and consisted of fragments of the skull and mandible, loose teeth, and osteoderms.
The skull's remains belong to the large Crocodylus niloticus species native to the freshwater habitats of Egypt, a species that still lives today in the Nile River.
The discovery was made by a team of archaeologists from the Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, led by Dr. Patryk Chudzik. The research has been published in the Journal of African Archaeology (https://brill.com/view/journals/jaa/20/1/article-p107_6.xml) in April 2022.
It seems this is the first time crocodile remains have been discovered inside tombs in Egypt. Previously, archaeologists have found crocodile mummies buried inside temples.
Dr. Chudzik told Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/nine-crocodile-skulls-found-inside-ancient-egyptian-tombs-1768837) that:
"This is a completely unusual discovery and the first of its kind in the history of research in Egypt. We know of many crocodile mummies that have been found along the Nile. They are all mummies of whole crocodiles that have been deposited in specially prepared catacombs of sacred animals, in this case, crocodiles or sacred animals of the god Sobek.In our case, things are different. Firstly, only the heads and not the entire bodies of these Nile reptiles have been deposited in the tombs where we work. Secondly, they were not mummified but only wrapped in linen (there is a significant difference in this, as no preservatives were used). Finally, the remains were found in the tombs of humans, not the catacombs of sacred animals.
So far, only a few crocodile teeth have been found near a tomb in Middle Egypt. This, however, was a little too little to be able to say anything more about the significance of these gifts, as this was undoubtedly the form of the crocodile heads brought to the tombs during the funerary ceremonies."
The tombs belong to two top officials during the reign of Pharaoh Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II (r. 2055-2002 BC).
The first tomb belongs to Chancellor Chetti, a high official. The occupant of the second tomb is still anonymous. Archaeologists believe he may have been a vizier, a position comparable to today’s prime minister.
Dr. Chudzik added that:
"We cannot exclude the possibility that the crocodile heads were nevertheless of exceptional importance and indicative of the exceptional position of the deceased, as we do not know of such finds from tombs belonging to people from lower social classes.In both our cases, we know that the owners of the tombs were the most important officials at the royal court. I can also tell you that during the past season, a few weeks ago, we found the remains of crocodile mandibles in another tomb, now in its third one. It, too, belonged to an important official, so we can already slowly speak of a phenomenon that was hitherto completely unknown."
Many crocodile mummies have been found in the past along the Nile. They are all whole crocodile mummies that were placed in specially prepared catacombs for sacred animals.
Placing of crocodile heads inside tombs was certainly unusual but not entirely unprecedented. Probably earlier researchers paid little attention to such discoveries as were focusing on more important things. This may explain why there is no earlier record of such discoveries in tombs.
Dr. Chudzik concluded that:
"The discovery of these remains opens up an extremely interesting discussion on the significance of animal remains discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs. As it turns out, they were not mere sacrifices, but had symbolic significance, in the case of the crocodiles it was most likely a reference to the god Sobek-Ra"
The University of Warsaw team has been studying the two tombs since 2013.
