Ostrich eggshell

Ostrich eggshells
(Philipps 2000)

Ostriches (struthio camelus) inhabit the southern deserts of Egypt, the Sudan areas of central Africa south of the Sahara. The bird was hunted from the earliest times (compare in Merimde). Ostriches were most valued for their feathers and their eggs. Eggs can be up to fifteen centimetres in length and thirteen centimetres in diameter, with a shell thickness of up to 3.5 millimetres. Ostrich eggshells have been recovered from Fayum sites (Kom K and W) and Egyptian graves of the Badarian and Naqada periods. The shells were also worked into jewellery.

ostrich eggshells from Gurob