Eye of Horus – update

Rozenn has answered some of your questions about the mummy bird I posted below. Rather than try add a comment to the re-shares, I’m hoping you see this.

Kestrels are indeed falcons – the one in this mummy is most likely a falco tinnunculus, or common kestrel.

As for the reason behind the bird mummies: in a few months, all will be revealed! There are different types of animal mummies. Some were pets, but they are the minority – only a few examples have been found in people’s tombs, in their own sarcophagus, with a name and all; others are victual mummies, which were deposited in tombs as well, but this time to be food in the afterlife; there were also some sacred animals, that were considered the embodiment of the divine during their life and were buried with pomp. However, the large majority of mummies were votive mummies, which were mass produced (tens of millions all together, at least) over 6 or 7 centuries. We assume that pilgrims visiting a religious site (for example sacred to the falcon god Horus) could pay for the burial of one of these mummies and accompany it with a prayer. Once a year or so, all these mummies would be buried in catacombs.

https://plus.google.com/107896084561441926092/posts/MZDXSdGxFsj