Last Updated on 18/08/2024 by wccexam Desk
Egypt is known for its pyramids and mummies. But the stories behind them are different. Gods for everything. A different ancient tradition for every work. A system of sacrificing animals for the gods. Scientists found a 3,000-year-old crocodile mummy. This mummy was offered to Sobek, the god of the Nile River.
It is not that the ancient Egyptians only made mummies of their relatives. Rather they also preserved thousands of animals. That too by making mummies. Now the scientists had to find out how the crocodile died. What was fed to the crocodile before its mummification. That is, is there still food left in its stomach?
How was he killed etc. In Egypt, different animals had connections with different gods. For example, the eagle was connected to the sun god Horus because it could fly close to the sun. The cat was connected to the goddess Bastet because she was brave like a mother and protected children. That is why mummies of these animals were made.
They were offered to the gods. This was the period between 750 BC and 250 AD in Egypt. At this time, mummies of some animals are also present, which are no longer found in Egypt. Like Ibises… It was a predatory bird with long legs and a curved beak. It was offered to a god named Toth. Now this bird is not in Egypt.
Many mummies of crocodiles have been found here. This is the biggest one. In Egypt at that time, people used to wear crocodile skin. So that evil forces could be kept away. Or the dead crocodile was hung on the walls or doors of the houses as a Feng Shui. As a trick so that negativity does not enter the house.
The length of this crocodile is 2.23 meters. It is kept in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. It was brought to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and its radiographic study was done. With the help of medical instruments, you can see inside and outside ancient things. Without damaging them. Gastroliths were found in the stomach of this crocodile.
Gastroliths are small stones found in the food pipe. Sometimes crocodiles swallow small stones so that they can digest their food properly. The discovery of gastroliths confirmed that the people who mummified the crocodile did not remove its internal organs. Metal fishing hooks and fish were found inside the stomach.
At that time, people used to put fish on a hook in the river to catch crocodiles. When the crocodile came to eat this fish, it would get trapped in the net. This story is found in the documents of Greek historian Herodotus. Herodotus visited Egypt in the fifth BC. Pigs were killed on the riverbank so that crocodiles would come near and could be caught. Fish trapped on hooks were also used.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)