Mummy of a crocodile

During Antiquity, all of Egypt’s wetlands were inhabited by crocodiles. Early on, the fear-based respect shown toward these predators, which can reach a length of up to six meters, and the admiration of their strength led to a cult-like crocodile worship. Dead animals were mummified and buried in caves, where numerous juveniles and even embalmed eggs have been found beside adult individuals. These 30-centimeter-long crocodile mummies, wrapped in linen strips, on display in the Senckenberg Nature Museum in Frankfurt correspond to the animals’ body length at the time of hatching; it therefore stands to reason that the crocodiles died during or shortly after birth.