The Mummy of a Falcon

The falcon played a central role in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, it was considered as the main form of manifestation of several gods (Re, Re-Harakhte, a number of local versions of the god Horus, Nemty, etc.). Owing to its close relationship with the god Horus, the falcon was also associated with the person of the king, the earthly incarnation of Horus: the king is frequently depicted as a falcon along with other royal animals (lion, bull). Although the veneration of falcon gods is attested as early as in the Pre-Dynastic Period (before 3000 BC) in Egypt, the practice of falcon mummification began in the seventh century and lasted until around the second century AD.
The Egyptians of the Late Period considered each falcon as a sacred animal; dead specimens were mummified without distinction of sex and breed, and placed in separate cemeteries, which were known as Heresieon in the Greco-Roman Period. Their burial places all over the country included not only falcons but other kinds of predatory birds considered identical with them (kestrels, hawks, buzzards, etc.), even mummified specimens of prey (rodents, reptiles) were also found that served as food supply for the predators in the afterlife.

The body of the mummified animal was first wrapped in linen strips and after the mummy was thus shaped into a form reminiscent of a human mummy it was wrapped in a linen shroud. Mummies prepared in this way were then decorated with colour painting. A striped wig was painted around the head and a broad wesekh-collar, symbolizing protection and rebirth, on the chest section. The preparations carried out on the mummy thus took place almost according to the prescriptions relating to the mummification of human corpses, since the falcon was the sacred animal of the god Horus.
In the cult of numerous Egyptian gods, the worship of the animal associated with a particular deity played an important role. The swift-winged falcon was revered as the manifestation of the god Horus, among others. On the famous statue of Khephren, classed as a masterpiece, the outstretched wings of the falcon god protectively embrace the ruler’s head. The pharaoh’s “Horus name” can be seen at the beginning of his titulary.