Animal Mummies Uncovered

Animal mummies were some of the earliest souvenirs that travellers brought home with them after visiting Egypt during the 1800s. Huge numbers of animal mummies were found in catacombs where they had been deliberately buried as gifts to the gods. Despite the massive scale of the dedication of animal mummies in ancient Egypt there has been relatively little study of these fascinating remains. Now modern technology allows scientists to study the mummies in a non-destructive way. This exhibition draws upon recent research at the University of Manchester by the Ancient Egyptian Animal Bio Bank and reveals the stories of the animal mummies for the first time.

The exhibition opened at Manchester Museum in October 2015, before touring to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and National Museums Liverpool: World Museum. The version shown here is the downscaled version which opened at the Museum of Wigan Life in May 2017.