A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven Pharaonic Age tombs near the capital Cairo containing dozens of cat mummies along with wooden statues depicting other animals and birds.
Mostafa Waziri told reporters Saturday that the discovery at Saqqara also includes mummies of scarabs, the first ever to be found in the area.
Of the statues found, those depicting cats were the majority, reflecting the reverence ancient Egyptians showed the felines, whose God Bastet was worshipped. Other statues depicted a lion, a cow and a falcon.
Egypt has been whipping up publicity for its new historical discoveries in the hopes of reviving a devastated tourism sector still recovering from the turmoil following a 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
The leader of the excavation holds a statue found in a newly discovered tomb, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local …
Cats held special place in Ancient Egypt and were mummified as religious offerings
Egyptian archaeologist cleans bronze ancient Egyptian sitting cat statue on Saturday (AFP)
Artifacts on display in a glass case, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven Pharaonic Age …
Artifacts on display in their glass case in front of newly discovered tombs, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local …
A worker carries an artifact out of a tomb, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven Pharaonic …
Papyrus on display in a glass case, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven Pharaonic Age …
A bronze cat statue on display, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven Pharaonic Age tombs …
Mummified cats inside a tomb, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven Pharaonic Age tombs …
An archaeologists works on an artifact inside a tomb, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven …
An archaeologists works on a statue inside a tomb, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven …
Archaeologists work on statues and artifacts inside a tomb, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered …
Archaeologists work on statues and artifacts inside a tomb, at an ancient necropolis near Egypt’s famed pyramids in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered …
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