Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (10.1998(1999))

_WEST SAQQARA_

EGYPT

FAUNAL REMAINS
Salima Ikram

PRELIMINARY REPORT

The faunal remains from the site belong to
B. taurus in the majority, the rib being the
most common element found. It is inter-
esting that in each area identified as an
"offering site", ribs are invariably found. It
is the most common type of bone recovered
from the site. In this faunal assemblage, a
hind leg of the animal is also represented,
as is the head. There is one confirmed iden-
tification of part of a foreleg. Certainly, in
ancient Egypt, cows/oxen were highly
regarded as offerings, especially in the ear-
lier periods of Egyptian history. Most of
the animals found were quite young: about
two years old or so. Animals of this age are
quite tender and relatively small.
. Bird bone fragments, mainly from the
long bones, are the next most commonly
encountered type of faunal remains from
the site. For the most part these seem to
represent wild fowl that died here by acci-
dent, rather than deliberate deposits. There
is a what might be a duck, a bird which
commonly figured in ancient Egyptian
offering lists.
Sheep and goat are the next most com-
monly found animal species at the site.
These animals were commonly consumed
in ancient Egypt and are well attested in
other funerary contexts. The appearance of

pig bones at the site is extremely unusual
as the animal is not part of the canonical
funerary food offerings. One of the pigs-
was quite young, about 1.5 years old, if
that, while the other one was a bit older —
about 2.25 years or a bit more. The appear-
ance of fish in a funerary context, although
unusual, is by no means unprecedented,
especially in the Early Dynastic period (see
Emery's Aw Ancient Egyptian Funerary
Repast}.
The large, medium and small mammal
fragments are bits of bone that can in some
case be attributed to an element, but not to
the taxon, and are thus left in loose groups.
It is more than probable that the large
mammal fragments belong to cows/oxen,
and the medium mammal fragments to
sheep and goats.
The snake eggs are not ancient.
One very curious type of bone (awaiting
identification) seemed to be highly worked
and polished, and at some point time
exposed to fire (?) which turned it light
pink right through in places. The discol-
oration might be due to some other factor,
such as fungus. The bone might be the
scapula of a large mammal; it seems to
have been worked around the outer edges
to give it a rounded shape.

Bos
taurus
Ovis
Capra
Sus scrofa
Large
mammals
Medium!
large
mammals
Medium
mammals
Small
mammals
Fish
Bird
Snake
‘SV
Un¬
known
37
7
5
5
7
11
2
1
12
1 areas
1

106