National Geographic News

There's a real crocodile behind that mask, according to new computed tomography (CT) scans of a 2,000 year old Egyptian mummy.

Scans of the bundle above show a "mishmash of bony parts" from at least two Nile crocodiles, including two skulls, a shoulder bone, and possibly a femur, according to conservator Allison Lewis, a fellow at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology in Berkeley, California, where the mummies are kept.

Their origins unknown, the mummy bundles were purchased by philanthropist Phoebe Hearst in Egypt at the turn of the 20th century. The artifacts were recently restored and studied before going on display this week in the museum's new exhibition, "Conservator's Art: Preserving Egypt's Past."

Mummifying animals was a common practice among ancient Egyptians, who embalmed thousands of crocodiles and buried them in mass graves as offerings to the crocodile god Sobek, according to the museum.

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