Sacred Animals of Ancient Egypt Gallery
By Robert Partridge
Last updated 2011-02-17
Mummy of a ram
Sheep were kept for their meat, milk, skins and wool, and flocks of sheep were used to trample newly sown seed into the ground.
Rams, seen as a symbol of fertility, were identified with various gods, notably Khnum, a creator god, and Amun, the great god of the city of Thebes. Ram-headed sphinxes flank the entrance to the temple of Amun at Thebes.
The bodies of some rams were mummified and equipped with gilded masks and even jewellery.
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