Egyptian mummies

A day of culture; we’re museumed out.

First, the Royal Palace to see the Turin shroud. The shroud is hidden away in the altar of the Cappella della Sacra Sindone ‘Chapel of the Holy Shroud’, so you can’t see it. Disappointing.

Second, the Museo Egizio ‘Egyptian Museum’. It’s the oldest Ancient Egyptian museum in the world, and the second largest outside Egypt. It took forever to get round, and that’s with two rooms being refurbished.

There were quite a few mummies knocking about; I didn’t mind those except for one that looked like it was oozing black gunk. I’m too squeamish for that.

It wasn’t just humans that were mummified. They also mummified cats (see extra), canids, cows, falcons, hawks, ibises, snakes, crocodiles and fish (the last six are in the photo).

Egyptian coffins, which contain the mummies, are typically in the shape of whatever is in there. They painted faces on the mummies and on the coffins. The cows in particular were made to look ridiculous.

I couldn’t bear the animal mummies and coffins.