Mummified falcon from Ancient Egypt. Animals were mummified in Ancient Egypt for thousands of years, either to allow a favoured pet to follow its owner into the afterlife, or as an act of worship to a god with an animal cult. Falcon mummy offerings would have been intended for the god Horus. Mummification involved removing the internal organs, drying out the body, embalming it, and wrapping it in layers of linen. This is a substitute mummy, as X-rays show no bones inside the object. This mummy dates from around 400 BC to 100 AD, the Late Period to Roman Period. This object was collected between 1851 and 1865, and given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1890.