Appearance and Reality in Ancient Egyptian Votive Animal Mummies

研究背景在古埃及，数以百万计的动物被制成木乃伊，作为许愿的祭品或“献给神的礼物”。我们对这些动物祭品的角色和功能的理解依赖于我们准确解释材料的能力。以前对动物木乃伊的研究主要是针对特定物种或涉及个人收藏；然而，曼彻斯特研究团队最近的工作采用了跨学科的方法。与为来世继续生存而保存下来的人类木乃伊不同，这些动物木乃伊最好的理解是根据古代宗教官员的意图，他们创造了许愿供品，作为人间和神界之间沟通的一种手段。高分辨率非侵入性成像，包括射线照相(X光)和计算机断层扫描(CT)，是在不造成损害的情况下调查包裹的木乃伊束内容物的强大技术。在Leverhulme Trust资助的研究项目(RPG-2013-143)期间，我们的研究小组已成功地将临床成像技术应用于300多具动物木乃伊。这突出表明，在所研究的标本中，只有不到一半的标本存在完整的动物骨架。相反，这些木乃伊中的大多数似乎是从非骨骼动物材料(羽毛、蛋壳)或非动物材料(泥土、植物物质等)的部分动物遗骸(一个或多个人的遗骸，在某些情况下是人类遗骸)建造的。不管里面装的是什么，这些包裹都被仔细地用亚麻布包裹起来，并经常在存放在圣地之前装饰得很好。这些含有动物身体以外的动物木乃伊的动物木乃伊有时会被解释为假货，暗示有人故意欺骗购买者；然而，本提案的总体目标是通过回答以下三个研究问题(RQ)来调查包裹的祈愿动物木乃伊的外观和实际内容物之间的不同相关性：-RQ1：包含除完整动物身体以外的任何东西的木乃伊束是否可以被归类为假货？RQ2：无论其实际内容物如何，这些部分和伪木乃伊中的一些是否与祈愿供品一样有效？RQ3：部分和伪木乃伊旨在提供不同的祈愿功能吗？我们将使用以下技术来回答这些问题：--视觉分析以评估木乃伊防腐处理的复杂程度，包装和装饰处理。-非侵入性成像技术(临床和工业)与优化的CT方案和复杂的3D软件操作方法相结合，将提高我们对木乃伊捆绑中材料的识别能力。-将使用动物考古比较技术研究成像数据和3D复制品，以识别包裹在捆绑包中的异常情况。-将对托勒密-罗马时期(公元前332年-公元395年)的历史来源进行整理和研究，以证实科学发现。潜在的应用和好处该项目的结果将通过对大量数据集的跨学科分析和研究的新方法，使埃及学、动物考古学、成像科学、纸质学和博物馆学领域的研究人员受益。公众和广播媒体对古埃及历史、文化和人民的强烈和持久的兴趣将有助于创造广泛的机会，扩大与公众受众的接触和接触。项目小组通过定期举办学习日，传播最新研究成果，并密切参与博物馆展览和广播媒体，在公众参与方面有很强的记录。

Context of ResearchIn ancient Egypt animals were mummified in their millions as votive offerings or 'gifts for the gods'. Our understanding of the role and function of these animal offerings relies on our ability to interpret the material remains accurately. Previous research on animal mummies has been mainly species-specific or involved individual collections; however, recent work by the research team at Manchester has adopted an interdisciplinary approach. In contrast to human mummies that were preserved for a continued existence in the afterlife, these animal mummies are best understood in the light of the intentions of the ancient religious officials, who created votive offerings as a means of communication between the earthly and the divine worlds. High-resolution non-invasive imaging, including radiography (X-ray) and computed tomography (CT) are powerful techniques for investigating the contents of wrapped mummy bundles without causing damage. Clinical imaging techniques have been successfully applied by our research group to over 300 animal mummies during the course of a Research Project Grant funded by the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2013-143). This highlighted that a complete animal skeleton is present in less than half of the specimens studied. Instead, the majority of these mummies appear to have been constructed from partial animal remains (of one or more than one individual, or in some cases human remains) from non-skeletal animal material (feathers, egg shell), or from non-animal material (mud, vegetable matter, etc.). Irrespective of the contents, the bundles were carefully wrapped in linen and often given highly decorated exteriors before being deposited in sacred areas. These votive animal mummy bundles containing anything other than a complete animal body have sometimes been interpreted as 'fakes', implying a deliberate attempt to deceive the purchaser; however, this explanation has never been tested.Aims and ObjectivesThe overall aim of this proposal is to investigate the varying correlation between the external appearance and the actual contents of wrapped votive animal mummies by answering the following three research questions (RQs):-RQ1: Can mummy bundles containing anything other than a complete animal body be classified as 'fakes'?RQ2: Were some of these partial- and pseudo-mummies equally effective as votive offerings regardless of their actual contents?RQ3: Were partial- and pseudo-mummies intended to serve a different votive function?We will answer these questions using the following techniques:-- Visual analysis of the exterior of mummy bundles to assess the sophistication of embalming, wrapping and decorative treatment. Did this vary depending on the contents?- Non-invasive imaging techniques (clinical and industrial) combined with optimised CT protocols and sophisticated 3D software manipulation methods will improve our identification of materials included within mummy bundles. - Imaging data and 3D replicas will be studied using zooarchaeological comparison techniques to identify anomalies 'hidden' within wrapped bundles.- Historic sources from the Ptolemaic-Roman periods (c.332BC-AD395) will be collated and studied, to corroborate the scientific findings.Potential Applications and BenefitsThe results of the project will benefit researchers in the fields of Egyptology, zooarchaeology, imaging science, papyrology and museology through the interdisciplinary analysis of a substantial dataset and a novel methodology for its study. The strong and enduring public and broadcast media interest in the history, culture and people of ancient Egypt will help to generate extensive opportunities for outreach and engagement with public audiences. The project team have a strong record of public engagement through their regular holding of study days to disseminate recent research findings and their close involvement with museum exhibitions and broadcast media.