Animal Offerings and Mysterious Vultures: Animal Bones from the Lepsius No. 25 Tomb Complex (Abusir, Egypt). Ägypten und Levante|Ägypten und Levante XXXIV 34|

Résumé 0

The tomb complex Lepsius No. 25, located in the southern part of the royal cemetery in Abusir Centre, is an unusual architectural monument consisting of two mastabas leaning on each other. Princess Hanebu and her female relative were probably buried in it during the second half of the Fifth Dynasty. The architectural complex has been extensively damaged by stone- and tombrobbers, and by secondary burying both in its interior and exterior. In addition to the fragmentary preserved skeletal remains of the tomb owners, parts of burial equipment, and other evidence of material culture, animal bones were also discovered during the archaeological excavation. They document how the food offerings in the burial equipment of both tomb owners looked like – they are evidence of the high status of both ladies. The animal bones also indicate the usage of animals and their parts during the cult activities in the chapel in Tomb Lepsius 25/1. The assemblage of animal bones was analysed according to the individual finding units inside and outside the tombs. The analyses also brought important results in concern with the “head and hooves” ritual. An interesting find was the discovery of vulture bones, which probably originated in the 1st millennium BC from the fill of the construction pit in Tomb Lespius 25/1. It cannot be ruled out that this may have resulted from efforts to meet the high demand for larger bird species for votive purposes in the Falcon catacombs in Northern Saqqara.