What Egyptian Crocodile Mummies Tell us About Life, Death, and Taxes Thousands of Years Ago

History Unplugged Podcast · Jun 10, 2021 · 54m

Our story begins in 1899, when two archaeologists — Arthur Hunt and Bernard Grenfell — were on an expedition in Northern Egypt in an ancient town once known as Tebtunis on a search for mummies and other ancient artifacts.

This was during a growing Western fascination with ancient Egypt that was later dubbed Egyptomania. Researchers hunted all things Egyptian — especially human mummies, partly because they represented the Western obsession with bringing the dead back to life.

While the team were excavating the town’s cemeteries, they found something unexpected: crocodile mummies. Instead of…