Funerary figurines of the four sons of horus from bab el gusus

الملخص EN

Miniature figurines in an excellent state of preservation that are on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Agriculture Museum at Giza, were originally found inside the mummies of the priests of Amun who were buried in the Second Find of Deir el Bahari in Western Thebes, better known as Bab el Gusus tomb.

The figurines are mostly made of wax in the form of the Four Sons of Horus.

They were inserted in the body cavity to give magical protection to the internal organs of the deceased, a funerary practice that was common in early first millennium BC Egypt.

This novel burial practice is a result of the socio-political changes during the Twenty-First Dynasty that led to numerous changes in the funerary customs of the said period.

The lack of security in the Theban area, compelled the priests of Amun to rebury the royal mummies of the New Kingdom that were subject to plundering, consequently gaining vast knowledge about the anatomy of the human body.

The new techniques to better preserve and enhance the mummy, included the placement of such figurines into the abdomen of the deceased.