DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Ikram, Salima: Preliminary zooarchaeological report, 2000
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41368#0130
WEST SAQQARA
EGYPT
funerary offering that was left by relatives
on subsequent visits to the tomb as it was
a cheaper meat than beef.3)
Remains of non-domestic animals were
also found during the course of the season.
The left and right femurs of a mature and
as yet unidentified large mammal were also
found in I/F3 Shaft 46. From the area of
Ptolemaic/Later Period burials, six bird
remains also came to light, including two
possible galliforms. In corridor 2 and I/F3
Shaft 46, fragments from about four canid
mandibles and maxillae were found,
belonging to either C. familiaris or
C. aureus, together with some fox teeth
(Vulpes 10), and the humerus of a mature
cat (Felis catus). The pectoral spine of
a Synodontis fish was also found. Thus far,
fish bones are unusual in a funerary
context, but they are not unknown. A fish
bone has been recovered from similar
funerary contexts during the course of the
1998 season.4)
There is a very unusual layer of flood-
borne debris found in Corridor 2 and
related chapels, which contains an
enormous number (several hundred, if not
thousand) of rodent remains (precise
identification pending). A similar level has
come to light in a Sixth Dynasty shaft at
Abu Sir, excavated by the Czech mission in
2000. As yet, it is not clear as to how this
deposit was created.5)
In conjunction with human burials of
the Ptolemaic/Roman period, an east-west
oriented burial of an entire lamb (Burial
168, Ovis arks) was excavated. Could this
be the burial of a beloved pet, or was it
a generous food offering? Based on
epiphysial fusion of its long bones and its
teeth, one can say that it was approximately
aged between five to seven months at
death. The bones bore no indication as to
the cause of death.
The most striking assemblage from the
2000 mission is a very unusual deposit of
bones, possibly ritual, found in the
chamber located at the end of Corridor 1
(Figs. 1, 2). The assemblage was arranged
in a loose circle, with some disruption
caused by bioturbation due to rodents,
insects, other animals (canids or foxes?),
and rock falling from the ceiling. The
majority of bones were all on one level,
with some bones being at a slightly lower
level (varying between 0.5-2.0 cm) than
the others. The assemblage consisted
primarily of animal heads and very few
other body parts. Some of the bones might
not be from a primary deposit, but at this
point it is not totally clear as to which
bones were intrusive, although it seems as
if one, if not more, of the canids was not
part of the primary deposit.
The species represented in this group
are extremely unusual in funerary or even
ritual (e.g. foundation deposits) contexts:
catfish (Clarias), Synodontis, donkey (Equus
asinus), pig (Sus scrofa), hartebeest
(Alcephalis bubalis), and canid (Canis
familiaris I aureus). The unifying theme
amongst these taxa is their association with
wild, chaotic, and Typhonic forces. It is
extremely probable that these bones are
related to the encased harpoon found in the
dirt about 0.7 m below, and its
accompanying deposit of Sixth Dynasty
pottery.
3) Id., Choice Cuts: Meat Production in Ancient Egypt (Leuven 1995), 29-33, 212-29-
4) Id., West Saqqara, op. cit., 106.
5) A possible hypothesis is that these tombs were the home of several owls, and these rodent remains are the result of their
pellets. However, the shaft in Abu Sir that contained a similar deposit does not lend itself as a suitable home for a group of
owls.
128
EGYPT
funerary offering that was left by relatives
on subsequent visits to the tomb as it was
a cheaper meat than beef.3)
Remains of non-domestic animals were
also found during the course of the season.
The left and right femurs of a mature and
as yet unidentified large mammal were also
found in I/F3 Shaft 46. From the area of
Ptolemaic/Later Period burials, six bird
remains also came to light, including two
possible galliforms. In corridor 2 and I/F3
Shaft 46, fragments from about four canid
mandibles and maxillae were found,
belonging to either C. familiaris or
C. aureus, together with some fox teeth
(Vulpes 10), and the humerus of a mature
cat (Felis catus). The pectoral spine of
a Synodontis fish was also found. Thus far,
fish bones are unusual in a funerary
context, but they are not unknown. A fish
bone has been recovered from similar
funerary contexts during the course of the
1998 season.4)
There is a very unusual layer of flood-
borne debris found in Corridor 2 and
related chapels, which contains an
enormous number (several hundred, if not
thousand) of rodent remains (precise
identification pending). A similar level has
come to light in a Sixth Dynasty shaft at
Abu Sir, excavated by the Czech mission in
2000. As yet, it is not clear as to how this
deposit was created.5)
In conjunction with human burials of
the Ptolemaic/Roman period, an east-west
oriented burial of an entire lamb (Burial
168, Ovis arks) was excavated. Could this
be the burial of a beloved pet, or was it
a generous food offering? Based on
epiphysial fusion of its long bones and its
teeth, one can say that it was approximately
aged between five to seven months at
death. The bones bore no indication as to
the cause of death.
The most striking assemblage from the
2000 mission is a very unusual deposit of
bones, possibly ritual, found in the
chamber located at the end of Corridor 1
(Figs. 1, 2). The assemblage was arranged
in a loose circle, with some disruption
caused by bioturbation due to rodents,
insects, other animals (canids or foxes?),
and rock falling from the ceiling. The
majority of bones were all on one level,
with some bones being at a slightly lower
level (varying between 0.5-2.0 cm) than
the others. The assemblage consisted
primarily of animal heads and very few
other body parts. Some of the bones might
not be from a primary deposit, but at this
point it is not totally clear as to which
bones were intrusive, although it seems as
if one, if not more, of the canids was not
part of the primary deposit.
The species represented in this group
are extremely unusual in funerary or even
ritual (e.g. foundation deposits) contexts:
catfish (Clarias), Synodontis, donkey (Equus
asinus), pig (Sus scrofa), hartebeest
(Alcephalis bubalis), and canid (Canis
familiaris I aureus). The unifying theme
amongst these taxa is their association with
wild, chaotic, and Typhonic forces. It is
extremely probable that these bones are
related to the encased harpoon found in the
dirt about 0.7 m below, and its
accompanying deposit of Sixth Dynasty
pottery.
3) Id., Choice Cuts: Meat Production in Ancient Egypt (Leuven 1995), 29-33, 212-29-
4) Id., West Saqqara, op. cit., 106.
5) A possible hypothesis is that these tombs were the home of several owls, and these rodent remains are the result of their
pellets. However, the shaft in Abu Sir that contained a similar deposit does not lend itself as a suitable home for a group of
owls.
128