The remains of headless falcons were found at an ancient Egyptian port on the coast of the Red Sea.
The boiling of falcon heads in preparation for offering in a sacred ritual was forbidden within that sacred space according to an inscription found at a dig site.
To boil a head in here is improper.
Berenike was partially inhabited by the semi-nomadic Blemmyes before it was abandoned.
The Northern Complex consists of a number of buildings. The culture and beliefs of the Blemmyes can be seen within them.
There is nothing known about the religious beliefs of the Blemmyes, apart from their association with the temples of Philae and Kalabsha on the Nile.
The current shrine could show that they respected the Egyptian tradition and developed cultic practices in which falcons were offered to the Egyptian god, but which still betrays its origins in the temples of the Nile Valley.
A team of archaeologists led by Joan Oller Guzmn of the University of Barcelona discovered the Falcon Shrine in 2019. In the style of an Egyptian shrine, there are two small rooms with doorways on a central axis.
The archaeologists found a broken stand and a podium in the rear room that would have been used to place a statue of the god. There were many animal remains, including fish, bird, and mammal bones, and egg shell fragments.
The mammal bones were from six different species. They made up 15% of the remains. The fish's bones made up less than 5 percent.
The majority of the remains were bird bones from three species of falcons.
There were 15 individual birds, 13 of which had been decapitated, and 14 of which were placed at the foot of the pedestal. A falcon was placed underneath a vessel in a corner of the room. It's not clear if the birds were bred for sacrifice or if they were wild.
The team noted that the egg shells were related to falcons. The team named it after the falcon.
The incomplete remains of animals mummified in ancient Egypt are indicative of a ritualistic purpose.
The stele could be a clue to the sacrifice of the falcon. There is a relief depicting a pharaoh making an offering to three gods: Harpocrates, the child-god Horus, and falcon-headed god Khonsu.
It is improper to boil a head in that area because of the inscription at the foot.
"It is a prohibition that warns the reader not to engage in what was clearly considered a profane activity: the boiling or cooking of a head, presumably that of a falcon, within a specified place - in this case, the shrine in which it was found," the researchers wrote.
The prescription on the stele suggests that the animals were boiled before they were presented to the god.
Many groups and religious traditions have borrowed gods and rites from other cultures and adapted them to their own rituals and beliefs.
The research was published in a journal.
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