ANCIENT Egyptians mummified their pets with as much care as they did humans, according to research carried out in the region.

It had been a commonly held belief that during the time of the Pharaohs, animals were simply wrapped in coarse linen and dipped in resin after their death.

But, after analysing samples from animal mummies dating from 818BC to 343BC, Dr Stephen Buckley, research fellow at York University, found that the procedures used for animals were as complex as those for humans.

He examined the tissues and wrappings of a mummified cat, two hawks and an ibis. The results showed that, as with human mummies, the Egyptians were using animal fats and plant oils as a cheaper base on which to apply more exotic ingredients.

These exotic, often imported ingredients, include pistacia resin, conifer resin, and possibly essential oils such as cedar oil.

Dr Buckley said: "The identification of this range of materials on the animal mummies sampled, are as exotic and complex as those used on human mummies of the same period.

"It shows that these animals were treated with greater respect after their death than Egyptologists had previously thought."

The ancient Egyptians regarded animals both as domestic pets and representatives of the gods. The cat symbolised the goddess Bastet, the hawk, Horus, and the ibis, Thoth.