Animal Mummies

How and why did the ancient Egyptians mummify their pets and other creatures? Airing October 28, 2015 at 9 pm on PBS Aired October 28, 2015 on PBS

Program Description

(Program not available for streaming.) It wasn’t just their pharaohs that the ancient Egyptians bundled up for the next world. Huge underground vaults were packed from floor to ceiling with a menagerie of mummified beasts—everything from falcons and ibises to cats and dogs, monkeys, shrews, fish, beetles, bulls, and crocodiles. Animal mummies were cranked out on an industrial scale to feed a nationwide obsession, including a staggering 8 million preserved dogs at one site alone. So why did they do it? NOVA joins a team of leading Egyptologists who deploy the latest medical imaging to peer beneath the wrappings without damaging the animal bodies inside. The results are enlightening, often surprising insights into the weird beliefs and practices that clung to the Egyptian quest for immortality.

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Broadcast Credits

PRODUCED & DIRECTED BY

Jon Eastman

EDITOR

Steve Crabtree

EDITED BY

Mike Duxbury

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

David Baillie

NARRATED BY

Craig Sechler

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Libby Hand

PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE

Laura Davey

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Emma Chapman

TEAM ASSISTANT

Nardia Millington

SOUND RECORDIST

Doug Dreger

MUSIC BY

Fayyaz Virji

GRAPHICS

Lexi Elven

ADDITIONAL EDITING

Vincent Liota

COLORIST

Boyd Nagle

AUDIO MIX

Heart Punch Studio

RESEARCHER

Sophie Stephenson-Wright

ARCHIVE RESEARCHER

Clare Cooper

FIXER

Magdy El Rashidy

ARCHIVAL MATERIAL

BBC Motion Gallery
Egypt Exploration Society
Getty Images
Library of Alexandria
Pond5

SPECIAL THANKS

Manchester Museum
Central Manchester University Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust
Materials Research Unit
Swansea University
The Egypt Centre, Swansea
Tuna-el-Gebel Project
Institute of Egyptology & Coptology, LMU Munich
Department of Archaeology & Anthropology
University of Bristol
Department of Archaeology
University of York
Steve Mills
Scott Williams
The Catacombs of Anubis Project, Cardiff University
Dr. Samia Mohammed El Marghani

HORIZON SERIES PRODUCED BY

Zoe Heron

NOVA SERIES GRAPHICS

yU + co.

NOVA THEME MUSIC

Walter Werzowa
John Luker
Musikvergnuegen, Inc.

ADDITIONAL NOVA THEME MUSIC

Ray Loring
Rob Morsberger

CLOSED CAPTIONING

The Caption Center

POST PRODUCTION ONLINE EDITOR

Spencer Gentry

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Jennifer Welsh

PUBLICITY

Eileen Campion
Eddie Ward

RESEARCH

Diane Toomey

SENIOR SCIENCE RESEARCHER

Caitlin Rotman Saks

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Linda Callahan

PARALEGAL

Sarah Erlandson

TALENT RELATIONS

Janice Flood

LEGAL COUNSEL

Susan Rosen

DIGITAL MANAGING PRODUCER

Kristine Allington

SENIOR DIGITAL EDITOR

Tim De Chant

DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA

Lauren Aguirre

RIGHTS MANAGER

Lauren Miller

UNIT MANAGER

Ariam McCrary

POST PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Brittany Flynn

SUPERVISING PRODUCER

Kevin Young

POST PRODUCTION EDITOR

Michael H. Amundson

BROADCAST MANAGER

Nathan Gunner

BUSINESS MANAGER

Elizabeth Benjes

DEVELOPMENT PRODUCER

David Condon

PROJECT DIRECTOR

Pamela Rosenstein

COORDINATING PRODUCER

Laurie Cahalane

SENIOR SCIENCE EDITOR

Evan Hadingham

SENIOR PRODUCER

Chris Schmidt

SENIOR SERIES PRODUCER

Melanie Wallace

DEPUTY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Julia Cort

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Alan Ritsko

SENIOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Paula S. Apsell

Produced for NOVA by BBC

This program was produced by WGBH, which is solely responsible for its content.

Original funding for this program was provided by Google, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, The David H. Koch Fund for Science, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.