The ibis bird, belonging to the Bubulcus ibis family but larger in size, is frequently found in areas with abundant water, particularly swamps. Currently, its habitat extends to Sudan and Ethiopia. This study focuses on samples exhibited at the Ancient Egyptian Agriculture Museum, a specialized museum dedicated to agricultural artifacts from ancient Egypt. Established in 1996, the museum showcases the evolution of agriculture in ancient Egypt across two floors, featuring agricultural tools, panels depicting agricultural scenes, animal and bird mummies, and mummified seeds and fruits.
This paper aims to identify and explain the main functions and characteristics of the Ibis mummy containers at the Late Period in ancient Egypt through answering the following questions: Is it possible to identify the distinctive characteristics of Ibis mummy containers despite the absence of their inscriptions? How do the different aspects of the Ibis' personality and religious significance influence the iconography and representations on these containers? Do the forms, materials, and decorative elements of the Ibis mummy containers vary according to the period and their intended function? To what extent can the Ibis mummy containers be used as a criterion for dating Late Period funerary practices in ancient Egypt? Therefore, this paper tries to present and clarify the representations, functions, and significance of these ibis mummy containers in Late Period by studying unpublished Ibis mummy containers which exhibit at the Ancient Egyptian Agriculture Museum (AEAM).
Keywords: Agricultural Museum, Ibis, Sarcophagus, Coffin, Canopic Jar, Mummy Containers, Late Period.