Mummy of a Dog
This mummy of a juvenile dog was discovered in the necropolis of Asyut during Ernesto Schiaparelli’s excavation between 1910 and 1912. Now housed in Cabinet 51 of Room 11 at the Egyptian Museum of Turin (Museo Egizio. Suppl. 11009), the animal’s form is modest in scale, measuring 28 by 44 centimetres, yet richly evocative of a ritual once held sacred.
A CT scan unveils the stark reality beneath the wrappings: the partially disarticulated skeleton of a young dog, its body eviscerated, telling us it went through the extensive mummification process the Egyptians had made into a perfected art form.
During the Late Period (c. 664–332 B.C.) and into the Ptolemaic and early Roman periods, it became increasingly common for animals associated with particular deities, such as dogs, cats, ibises, hawks, crocodiles, and others to be mummified in vast numbers as votive offerings by pilgrims seeking divine favour. While some creatures may have died naturally, many were likely killed (sometimes as juveniles) ensuring a steady supply of holy tributes. Some were strangled, others suffered broken necks or suffocation. Their tributary state, embalmed, then wrapped in linen and preerved via resin was not merely an act of reverence, but part of a thriving sacred economy in which devotion and commerce met in the wrappings of the dead.
Dogs, like this mummified pup, associated chiefly with the god Anubis, were bred, sacrificed, and mummified in specialised cult centres such as Cynopolis (“City of the Dogs”) and Saqqara, near the vast temple complexes.
The body of the puppy is wrapped with remarkable precision: a basket-weave arrangement of coarse linen, partially secured by resinous material, encased beneath a separate shroud of dyed textile, possibly red, whose ornamental border peeks out at the fore. The knotting of the bands suggests a deliberate, ceremonial touch, binding not merely cloth, but belief.
Dog Breeds in Ancient Egypt
The Ancient Egyptians did not categorise dogs by breed as we do today, but artistic depictions, inscriptions, and mummified remains reveal a variety of distinct dog types, many resembling modern breeds.
Among the most prominent were slender, long-legged sight hound types (such as the Tesem) depicted frequently in tomb art from the Old Kingdom onwards. These elegant, erect-eared dogs closely resemble today’s Salukis or Greyhounds and were prized for their speed and skill in hunting.
Heavier, mastiff-like dogs began appearing during the New Kingdom and were likely used for guarding and military purposes, bearing similarities to Molossian hounds introduced from the Near East.
The more common indigenous village dogs, akin to today’s Baladi or Canaan dogs, were jackal-like in appearance with erect ears and curved tails, often serving as semi-domesticated scavengers or informal protectors of households.
Occasionally, art reveals shorter-legged dogs with curled tails, which may have been used for herding or guarding.
Dogs in Ancient Egypt were valued not only for their utility but also for their companionship; they were named, mourned, and sometimes buried with their owners or honoured with memorial stelae.
