Adulis and the transshipment of baboons during classical antiquity.

Adulis, located on the Red Sea coast in present-day Eritrea, was a bustling trading centre between the first and seventh centuries CE. Several classical geographers-Agatharchides of Cnidus, Pliny the Elder, Strabo-noted the value of Adulis to Greco-Roman Egypt, particularly as an emporium for living animals, including baboons ( spp.).

Synchrotron "virtual archaeozoology" reveals how Ancient Egyptians prepared a decaying crocodile cadaver for mummification.

Although Ancient Egyptians mummified millions of animals over the course of one millennium, many details of these mummification protocols remain unknown. Multi-scale propagation phase-contrast X-ray synchrotron microtomography was used to visualise an ancient Egyptian crocodile mummy housed at the Musée des Confluences (Lyon, France). This state-of-the-art non-destructive imaging technique revealed the complete interior anatomy of the mummy in three dimensions.