Bats in the burial chamber of mastaba 17. Notice the quality of the masonry. This was almost certainly a royal tomb.
42 – Bats!
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Bats in the burial chamber of mastaba 17. Notice the quality of the masonry. This was almost certainly a royal tomb.
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The question is often asked, “How do the bats get in and out?” In some pyramids you can imagine them getting in and out through cracks and spaces in the masonry. However, here the masonry is of superb quality, and very tight-fitting, and so one is forced to conclude that they come and go the same way we do! I am guessing that the first bats to colonise the tomb probably used the first few metres of tunnel and, over the years, work their way deeper and deeper gradually getting to learn their way in and out. The bats are the Egyptian Tomb Bats, Taphozous perforatus. When we first entered the chamber some bats were disturbed and started to fly about. They soon settled. Their squeaks could be heard quite easily even with 65-year-old ears! They look a bit like drones we thought!