Dozens of mummified cats and beetles are found in tombs in Egypt

If you are interested in the history of ancient Egypt, then you know that cats had a very special role for Egyptian society, so much so that people were mourning when one of these animals died, and it was common for them to be mummified to serve religious offerings. . Because of this, the announcement that dozens of cats converted into small mummies have been discovered in tombs may not sound that surprising.

However, the news is important, yes, since the animals were found in several sarcophagi dating back more than 6, 000 years - in tombs containing coffins apparently untouched for all these millennia. And beyond the mummified felines, archaeologists have discovered something very, very unusual: some beetles also converted to mummies and stored in miniature sarcophagi! Yes, dear reader, preserved little bodies of beetles kept in little stone coffins. Look:

Mummified Beetles

Have you thought? Mummify beetles? (The Guardian / Nariman El-Mofty / AP)

Curious Artifacts

According to The Guardian staff, the cat mummies were discovered in three of four tombs on the outskirts of the Saqqara pyramid complex near Cairo. The site began to be excavated in April, and according to staff working on the site, the facade and entrance to the chambers appeared to be intact - suggesting that the site may have been overlooked by the famous tomb robbers and may still hold other treasures. archaeological

Mummified Cats

Some of the mummified cats discovered inside the tomb (The Guardian / Khaled Desouki / AFP / Getty Images)

As for the beetles, according to Mostafa Waziri, director of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, two of them were found inside a rectangular limestone sarcophagus with a domed lid and decorated with beetle designs. More of these animals have been discovered inside another smaller stone sarcophagus and, according to Waziri, these are unique and extremely rare items.

At the moment, in addition to the dozens of cat and insect mummies, archaeologists have also found about 100 feline statuettes, one of which is made of bronze and dedicated to the Egyptian deity Bastet, represented as a woman's body with a cat's head. .

Bronze statue

Bronze statuette found in one of the tombs (The Guardian / Khaled Desouki / AFP / Getty Images)

In addition, the team rescued the figure of a cow, lion, snake and hawk, all carved in wood, as well as amulets, papyrus, canopic vessels - used by the ancient Egyptians to store the organs removed during mummification. - and tools used by scribes.

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