In Pharaonic Egypt, animals held a special place. Venerated, they were sacrificed to serve as intermediaries between their tutelary deities and mankind. Countless animal mummies lie in ancient tombs. Still little-known, this rite is the subject of international archaeological research. In Middle Egypt, Melanie Flossmann and her German-Egyptian team are excavating the labyrinthine corridors of the Tounah el-Gebel necropolis, once attached to a temple dedicated to Thoth, the god of the moon and knowledge. Thousands of ibises and baboons, the deity's sacred animals, buried in terracotta urns, litter the underground galleries. Researchers have discovered that some specimens contain simple piles of linen or incomplete remains.

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