You’ve seen it by now. That creepy, linen-wrapped feline staring back from a sepia-toned frame in Dr. Jones’s office. Ever since Indiana Jones and the Great Circle hit shelves and screens, the Indiana Jones cat mummy photo has become a sort of digital scavenger hunt for fans. It’s one of those tiny, tucked-away details that makes a game world feel lived-in, but it’s also been causing a surprising amount of confusion for players just trying to pack their virtual suitcases.
Honestly, if you spent twenty minutes running around Marshall College looking for a piece of paper that was literally pinned to the wall behind you, you aren’t alone. It’s the first real "puzzle" of the game. It’s simple, sure, but it sets the stage for a story that treats archaeology—even the weird, feline-focused kind—as the center of the universe.
What Exactly Is the Indiana Jones Cat Mummy Photo?
Basically, the cat mummy photo is a quest item in the early "Marshall College" chapter of the 2024 game. Indy is getting ready to head out on a new adventure set between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. To leave his office, you have to pack. You need the whip (obviously), the medallion, and this specific photo of a cat mummy.
The game identifies this artifact as SW-003, a find from Siwa, Egypt, recovered in the summer of 1937. In the lore of the game, Indy thinks it’s just a low-value artifact. Then a massive guy named Brother Locus breaks into the college, steals the physical mummy, and sets the whole "Great Circle" mystery into motion.
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It isn't just a random texture. Developers at MachineGames clearly did their homework here. Some sharp-eyed fans on Reddit even tracked down what looks like the real-world inspiration: a 3D scan of a cat mummy held in the Archaeological Museum of Kraków in Poland.
Why Players Keep Missing It
It’s on the wall. Specifically, the back wall of Indy’s office, past the desk and the overflowing bookshelves. In a room filled with Easter eggs—like a record you can take as a gift or the iconic fedora—the photo sort of blends into the background noise of a busy professor's life.
You’ve gotta grab it and toss it into the suitcase near the desk. If you don't, you're stuck in the room forever. It’s a bit of a meta-commentary on Indy himself; he’s surrounded by history, and sometimes the most important clue is just a scrap of paper pinned to a corkboard.
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The Quest for the Stolen Cat Mummy
Once you’re out of the college, the photo takes a backseat to the physical object. The mission "The Stolen Cat Mummy" takes you all the way to the Vatican. This is where the game really leans into the "detective" side of Indy. You end up having to take four more photos of inscriptions to prove a theory to Father Antonio.
It’s kind of funny how a game about punching Nazis and swinging over pits involves so much amateur photography. But that's the point. It emphasizes that Indiana Jones is a scholar first, even if he's a scholar who happens to be very good with a revolver.
Is the Photo Based on a Real Discovery?
Kinda. While the Siwa 1937 story is fictionalized for the game, cat mummies are incredibly common in Egyptian archaeology. During the Late Period (around 664–332 BCE), millions of cats were mummified as offerings to the goddess Bastet.
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The specific look of the Indiana Jones cat mummy photo—the intricate, diamond-patterned linen wrapping—is a very real style seen in the Roman period of Egyptian history. Collectors and museums have been fascinated by these for centuries. The game developers likely used high-fidelity scans of real mummies to ensure that when you zoom in on that photo in your inventory, it doesn't look like a generic game asset. It looks like history.
- Real Location Inspiration: Archaeological Museum of Kraków (mummy scans).
- In-Game Catalog Number: SW-003.
- Historical Context: Siwa Oasis, Egypt (fictionalized 1937 find).
- Mission Significance: Triggers the Vatican City / Great Circle arc.
How to Handle the Photography Quests
If you're struggling with the later photography sections in the Vatican—like finding the inscriptions for the "Stolen Cat Mummy" quest—just remember to use your camera's focus. The game is pretty picky. You can’t just snap a blurry shot of a wall. You need to frame the "Sacred Wounds" mural or the "Fountain of Confession" inscriptions properly for them to register as "Notes" in your journal.
Missing a note? Check the underground crypts. There’s a tricky one near the Tower of Nicholas V where you have to take a photo of a stone mural behind an altar. If you miss it before moving to the next room, you might find yourself backtracking through a lot of angry guards.
Actionable Tips for Your Adventure
If you’re currently stuck on the Indiana Jones cat mummy photo or the subsequent quest, here’s what you actually need to do to move forward:
- In the Office: Look at the bulletin board directly behind Indy's desk. The photo is pinned there, often partially obscured by other notes. Just interact with it to "claim" it for your suitcase.
- In the Vatican: If Father Antonio won't accept your photos, check your journal. You need all four inscriptions. The hardest one is often near the "Baptism" portion of the Fountain Gate puzzle—you have to rotate the rings to reveal the correct symbol before the prompt to take a photo appears.
- Check Your Inventory: The "Stolen Cat Mummy" notes are more than just flavor text. They often contain the solutions to the later mechanical puzzles in the Great Circle, so actually read the descriptions attached to the photos.
The "Cat Mummy" might seem like a small detail in a game this big, but it’s the thread that pulls Indy out of his classroom and back into the field. Keep your eyes on the walls. In this game, the best clues aren't always in a golden chest—sometimes they're just pinned to a board.