Egypt’s latest archaeological find is a nod to the special attention ancient Egyptians paid to cats.
The country’s ministry of antiquities says dozens of cat mummies and around 100 wooden, gilded cat statues were unearthed in recently discovered 6,000-year old Pharonic Age tombs. The find also turned up a collection of statues of other animals including a lion, cow and falcon. The seven tombs were discovered by an Egyptian archaeological mission at Saqqara, in a cemetery in what would have been the ancient city of Memphis, south of Cairo. The excavation mission which uncovered the tombs started April. While three of the tombs have been explored, four others remain unopened.
Cats were particularly revered as divine creatures in ancient Egypt. Several Egyptian deities, including Bastet—the goddess of cats, have been depicted and sculptured with feline features. (A bronze cat statue of Bastet was also uncovered in the recent find.) Cats were also mummified and buried alongside ancient Egyptians based on mythology that they provided the dead with pets and food in the afterlife.
Egypt has notably publicized many of its recent archaeological finds in the hope of stirring tourist interest following a dip in tourist visits since mass protests overthrew long-time ruler, Hosni Mubarak, in 2011. In its Facebook announcement post, Egypt’s antiquities ministry noted there’s private sector interest “to develop archaeological field and sites and to show the exceptional richness of the Egyptian civilization” as well as “attract the attention of the world.” Egypt’s other major finds over the past year have included the ”most ancient archaeological solid residue of cheese” and a 2,000 year old cemetery.
Sign up to the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief here for news and analysis on African business, tech and innovation in your inbox