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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scientists did not unwrap one crocodile and find both baby crocodiles and a hooked fish. Two separate Egyptian mummies produced the startling discoveries. A three-metre bundle at the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden contains two crocodiles and dozens of individually wrapped babies. A different 2.2–2.23-metre mummy at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (accession 2005.335) contains a fish still attached to a metal hook, along with many gastroliths, or swallowed stones. X-ray and CT imaging revealed both interiors without opening the linen.
Two crocodile-mummy discoveries are being confused
The headline combines findings from Leiden and Birmingham. They involve different specimens, institutions and archaeological questions.
| Specimen | Interior finding | Main question | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden; about three metres long | Two crocodiles plus dozens of individually wrapped baby crocodiles | Why combine crocodiles of different ages in one offering? | New CT scan and interactive 3D visualization; an earlier 1996 scan had already detected two crocodiles |
| Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, accession 2005.335; 2.2–2.23 metres long | A recently swallowed fish still attached to a metal hook, plus numerous gastroliths | What happened immediately before the crocodile died? | X-rays, CT scanning and digital reconstruction |
Neither team physically opened the wrappings. The apparent “opening” was a virtual examination.
What the Leiden scan found inside the giant crocodile bundle
Dozens of wrapped babies
The Leiden mummy is a composite object made to look like one enormous crocodile. The new scan revealed dozens of small crocodiles, each individually wrapped, in addition to the two larger crocodiles already known from the 1996 scan.
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Wood, linen, plant stems and rope helped shape and secure the bundle. CT data allowed researchers to map the arrangement of the bodies and wrappings while leaving the object intact.
Possible religious meaning
Ancient Egyptians associated crocodiles with Sobek, a deity linked to crocodile power, fertility and the Nile. Crocodile mummies were made as religious offerings. Leiden Egyptologists suggest that placing animals at different life stages together may have symbolized rejuvenation and new life after death.
That interpretation is not the only possibility. The museum also notes a practical explanation: suitable large crocodiles may have been scarce, so embalmers assembled a convincing large form from several animals. The scan shows what was assembled, but it cannot by itself decide which motivation mattered most.
What Birmingham’s crocodile had eaten
A fish still on its hook
In the Birmingham mummy, imaging showed a fish inside the crocodile with a metal hook still attached. The fish’s skeleton remained largely intact, indicating that it had been swallowed whole and had not undergone substantial digestion.
That combination supports a scenario in which the crocodile died shortly after eating and was then prepared for mummification. It does not prove exactly how the crocodile was captured, or that the hook caused its death.
Gastroliths and the timing of death
The scans also showed numerous gastroliths—stones crocodiles swallow—and their position and abundance. Together with the undigested fish, the evidence indicates that normal digestive processing had not been completed when the animal died.
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Researchers digitally extracted the hook from the scan data and commissioned a bronze reconstruction so its shape could be examined without cutting into the original mummy.
How CT scanning can reveal a mummy’s contents
- X-rays pass through the wrapped body. Dense materials such as bone and metal absorb more radiation than linen, plant material or empty space.
- CT software combines many views into cross-sections. Researchers can inspect individual slices instead of guessing from the exterior.
- Three-dimensional models separate materials. Digital segmentation can distinguish skeletons, stones, hooks and other dense objects.
- Virtual tools expose hidden details. A team can rotate the model, follow a fish or hook through the body and digitally remove surrounding layers.
This approach is often called a virtual autopsy. University of Manchester lead author Dr Lidija McKnight said that 3D radiography makes it possible to see inside important artefacts without the damage caused by unwrapping or autopsy.
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What these mummies reveal about crocodile embalming
There was no single standardized crocodile-mummification recipe. A synchrotron study of crocodile mummies found that, in one example, most organs, muscles and much of the skeleton had been removed while the head and limb extremities remained. A separate study from Qubbat al-Hawa also recorded variable treatment, including a Kom Ombo crocodile whose organs and stomach contents were still present.
The Birmingham specimen therefore should not be treated as a typical example of every crocodile offering. Its preserved stomach contents are valuable precisely because preparation practices differed from one mummy to another.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How old are the crocodiles?
The University of Manchester describes the Birmingham mummy as broadly 2,000–3,000 years old; no precise radiocarbon date for accession 2005.335 is given in that account. A separate peer-reviewed synchrotron study placed all crocodiles in its own comparison set between 2255±30 BP and 1845±30 BP, a span broadly covering Egypt’s Late Period through the Roman period. That comparison range should not be presented as a direct date for the Birmingham animal.
The Leiden museum identifies its specimen as a three-metre composite mummy but the cited museum description does not provide an equivalent precise age.
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Why the discovery matters
The Leiden scan exposes the deliberate construction of a giant-looking offering from crocodiles of several sizes. The Birmingham scan captures a moment from an individual animal’s life: a whole fish, a metal hook and stones still in the digestive tract when death interrupted the process. Together, they show how non-destructive imaging can answer questions about both ancient religious practice and an animal’s final meal.
Leiden also presents a virtual crocodile-mummy autopsy and Egyptian galleries for visitors who want to explore the composite specimen without the risks of physically unwrapping it.
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