Ovis longipes palaeoaegyptiacus
Encyclopedia
Ovis longipes palaeo-aegyptiacus is a type of the extinct wild barbary sheep
found in the ancient Southern Egypt
and Nubia
, which were domesticated and often depicted as architectural stone reliefs on the tombs of the pharaohs for religious or aesthetic purposes. Ovis longipes palaeo-aegyptiacus was one of the two most commonly domesticated sheeps utilized on the reliefs of early pharaonic tombs mostly because of its unique loosely spiraling horns which came out of the sides of the skull. A similar form of the sheep called Ovis platyura aegyptiaca had horns that developed downward and curled forward.
Later on, these two variants of sheep came to presume important religious significance as well as domestic use. Herodotus
recounts that early Egyptians did not wear wool, but some scholars argue that it was meant only for the priests and that there is archaeological evidence, including the body of a man wrapped in wool dating to the first-dynasty in a burial at al-Helwan, that delineates this point. The use of this sheep is also unique in Egyptian depiction of their early deities. In fact, "the standard representation of Egyptian gods, were first developed, and naturally the ram-headed deities wore the horns of the then prevailing Ovis longipes palaeoaegyptiacus and retained them even long after the sheep itself had died out."
Barbary sheep
The Barbary Sheep is a species of caprid native to rocky mountains in North Africa. Six subspecies have been described. Although it is rare in its native North Africa, it has been introduced to North America, southern Europe and elsewhere...
found in the ancient Southern Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
and Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
, which were domesticated and often depicted as architectural stone reliefs on the tombs of the pharaohs for religious or aesthetic purposes. Ovis longipes palaeo-aegyptiacus was one of the two most commonly domesticated sheeps utilized on the reliefs of early pharaonic tombs mostly because of its unique loosely spiraling horns which came out of the sides of the skull. A similar form of the sheep called Ovis platyura aegyptiaca had horns that developed downward and curled forward.
Later on, these two variants of sheep came to presume important religious significance as well as domestic use. Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
recounts that early Egyptians did not wear wool, but some scholars argue that it was meant only for the priests and that there is archaeological evidence, including the body of a man wrapped in wool dating to the first-dynasty in a burial at al-Helwan, that delineates this point. The use of this sheep is also unique in Egyptian depiction of their early deities. In fact, "the standard representation of Egyptian gods, were first developed, and naturally the ram-headed deities wore the horns of the then prevailing Ovis longipes palaeoaegyptiacus and retained them even long after the sheep itself had died out."