Dozens of cat mummies discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs

[G_j]

https://news.sky.com/story/dozens-of-cat-mummies-discovered-in-ancient-egyptian-tombs-11551161

By Lucia Binding, news reporter

Dozens of cat mummies have been discovered along with a rare collection of mummified scarab beetles in seven Pharaonic Age tombs near Cairo, Egypt.

The discovery was made by an Egyptian archaeological mission during excavation work that began in April, antiquities minister Khaled el-Enany said.

The seven sarcophagi, some dating back more than 6,000 years, were found at a site on the edge of the pyramid complex in Saqqara, south of the Egyptian capital.

Three of the tombs had been used for cats, he said, while one sarcophagi belonged to Khufu-Imhat, overseer of the buildings in the royal palace.

Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the mission had also uncovered the first mummies of scarabs to be found in the area.

..more.,

[Submariner]

1. Cats have a long history of supervising construction projects, including the pyramids

[Hortensis]

6. Lol. Been there many times.

Not construction, but whenever I changed our second child's diaper in the living room, our very sweet but weirdly interested little cat wasn't allowed to get in the way, so she learned to drape herself across my shoulder and neck to supervise. I suspect she considered herself a co-mother.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Didn't realize they actually mummified scarabs

I have been there and have seen mummified cats, dogs, & crocodiles.

A mummified scarab -



These were the cats -

[G_j]

3. significance of scarabs

Two cats were found inside a rectangular limestone sarcophagus with a vaulted lid and decorated with three scarabs painted black.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. I have been to Egypt

literally from Cairo to Abu Simbel and you see them appearing everywhere (with lots of vendors selling all types too ).

[Hortensis]

5. Neat! Everyone was "a cat person" there then, apparently,

except a visiting Roman I remember reading about who didn't realize it and made the fatal mistake of killing one, a lynching crime.