Strange Animal Tombs at Hierakonpolis (2015)
Animals were commonly buried with their owners or as offerings to the gods or to accompany them to the afterlife. But a 5,000 year old site in Hierakonpolis (HK6) has left researchers baffled. Tombs containing the remains of animals not commonly found in ancient Egyptian burial practices are raising questions. Among them are baboons, hartebeest, aurochs, a leopard, elephants, even a hippopotamus. Researchers are trying to determine if this collection of strange animals was part of a zoo or if the animals were privately owned pets. The bones have revealed that some of the animals had healed bone fractures, possibly because they were tethered during captivity, the result of a difficult capture, or injuries caused by keepers who didn’t know how to handle them.