Mummified dog from Ancient Egypt. Animals were mummified in Ancient Egypt for thousands of years, either to allow a favoured pet to follow its owner into the afterlife, or as an act of worship to a god with an animal cult. Dog mummy offerings would have been intended for the god Anubis, who was variously worshiped as a dog, fox, or jackal. Mummification involved removing the internal organs, drying out the body, embalming it, and wrapping it in layers of linen. This mummy is from the Late Period to the Roman Period (around 400 BC to 100 AD), and was excavated in Egypt's Western Desert in a Roman cemetery. |