is the hieroglyphic sign depicting the sacred ibis (
Threskiornis aethiopicus) of ancient Egypt, perched on a standard normally used to hold emblems of deities.
This sign was used as a determinative in the word
hb meaning "ibis," and in the name of the god Thoth,
DHwty.
The sacred ibis was regarded as a manifestation of this deity, the
patron of wisdom and learning. During the Late Period and Greco-Roman
Period, veneration of Thoth increased greatly, with Egyptians offering
ibis mummies to this god. There is evidence to suggest that 4 million
of these ibis mummies were interred at Saqqara alone! However, when
these bird mummies have been x-rayed or unwrapped, it has been
discovered that the unscrupulous priests sometimes simply wrapped up a
few bones or even nothing at all and passed it off as an ibis mummy to
unsuspecting pilgrims.
The sacred ibis has not been seen in
Egypt in over 100 years, probably due to the loss of marshlands in the
Egyptian Delta, but it is still found in the Sudan and
elsewhere,
and in zoos. The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is one of the only habitats
where one can still find the sacred ibis in Egypt, where a new room has
been created to house them and other
animal mummies.
Suggested Reading:
To learn more about Egyptian birds, I recommend the following books,
which you can purchase online in association with Amazon, no matter
where in the world you live, through Amazon in the U.S. , U.K. or
Canada by clicking on the associated flag icons after each title:
The Birds of Ancient Egypt, Patrick F. Houlihan.
This is the definitive work on birds in ancient Egypt. The author
combines modern scientific knowledge with ancient Egyptian sources. The
book covers all species of birds known from ancient Egypt, and is
richly illustrated with black and white photos of birds in ancient
Egyptian art. Order now:
A Photographic Guide to Birds of Egypt and the Middle East, Richard Porter. In
recent years, a number of guides for identifying Egyptian birds have
appeared, but this is the best. Organized in a logical manner, it
features full-color photographs of all of the birds one might see in
Egypt today. Order now:
