A study, published in the ‘American Journal of Archaeology’, that describes the excavation of a religious complex from the Late Roman Period (between the fourth and sixth centuries) has found a mysterious ‘Falcon shrine’. It has an arrangement of up to 15 falcons within the shrine, most of them headless. Although burials of falcons for religious purposes had already been observed in the Nile Valley, as had the worshipping of individual birds of this species, this is the first time that researchers have discovered falcons buried within a temple, and accompanied by eggs, something completely unprecedented. In other sites, researchers had found mummified headless falcons, but always only individual specimens, never in group. Here, along with the headless birds, are offerings like harpoons, cube-shaped statues, and a stele with indications related to religious activities. All of these elements point to intense ritual activities combining Egyptian traditions with contributions from the nomadic Blemmyes, sustained by a theological base possibly related to the worshipping of the god Khonsu.
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