268 
Mr . Pearson's Account of two Mummies 
Length of the sternum - 
Inches. 
4 
From the end of the metatarsal bone to the extremity 
Width of the body at the shoulders - - 41- 
Circumference of the body, at its thickest part - 1 31- 
Weight of the mummy, i6|- ounces Troy. 
This mummy is in a very firm and intire state, exhibiting 
no particular marks of decay, although it is probable, that the 
greater part of 3000 years has elapsed since it was interred ; 
for the destruction of the Egyptian Thebes is of an earlier 
date than the foundation of any city now existing. The ap- 
pearance of the mummy renders it probable, that the bird was 
immersed in the bituminous matter, when it was in a liquid 
state, and capable of insinuating itself into all the inequalities 
on the surface of the body ; the several folds of the bandage 
must have been likewise covered with the same varnish : but 
the animal was certainly not boiled in the liquid, as Grew 
supposed,'* since the feathers are not at all corrugated, nor 
indeed materially changed from their natural appearance. 
The examination of different mummies of the Ibis proves indu- 
bitably that the same care has not been used, nor have the same 
methods been followed, in the preparing of them ; but, whether 
the difference observed depended upon the condition of the 
bird when it was embalmed, or upon the unequal skill and 
diligence of the operators, cannot now be ascertained. This, 
however, is sufficiently evident, that the variety exhibited in 
their appearance does not depend on the place where the bird 
was deposited, since many mummies of birds have been taken 
of the longest toe 
The longest toe 
O 
• Musceum Regalis Societatis , § 1, 
