Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered what they believe to be the oldest known animal cemetery in the world.
Nearly 600 cats, dogs and monkeys were found carefully placed in individual graves in Berenike, a seaport off the west coast of the Red Sea.
Some of the animals still wore collars and other ornaments, and others showed evidence of disease indicating that they had been cared for by humans.
But the lack of mummification or sacrifice on the 2,000-year-old site suggests that they were pets, not used in rituals or worshiped as gods.
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The remains of about 588 cats, dogs and monkeys have been found at a site in the ancient Egyptian port of Berenike, which archaeologists believe could be the oldest known cemetery for pets.
Berenike was founded in 275 BC. by Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphia, who named it after his mother, Berenice I of Egypt.
It was a lively Roman port, and excavations uncovered pottery, spices, fabrics and other goods from India, as well as luxury items from all over the empire.
Berenike was also a railway station for the “war elephants” of Africa, who would be sent to fight in various battles.
Archaeozoologist Marta Osypinska and her husband, an archaeologist, Piotr, first discovered the cemetery site in 2011 while digging a Roman garbage dump on the outskirts of the city.
A number of dogs found on the site had medical problems that could not have survived without a human caregiver. Many, like this dog, were buried under pottery “which formed a kind of sarcophagus.”
In 2017, they dug up the remains of about 100 animals, mostly cats, and began to form an image of what the area was used for.
Other experts still believed that garbage could simply be thrown away.
It was not uncommon to bury pets in ancient Egypt, but they were usually buried with their owners, not placed in a dedicated space.
“At first, some very experienced archaeologists discouraged me from this research,” Osypinska told Science.
They insisted that there was little to learn about the Berenike culture from studying pets.
“I hope the results of our studies prove worthwhile,” she told the magazine.
Marta and Piotr Osypinska first dug up the site in 2011, but did not immediately establish their purpose as a pet cemetery. Even after more than 100 animal remains were discovered there, experts discouraged their research.
According to his research, published in the journal World Archeology, the “pet cemetery” in Berenice functioned for about a hundred years, from the middle of the first century to the middle of the second century.
Did the ancient Egyptian cats worship?
It is believed that the ancient Egyptians cared for domesticated cats as early as 3700 BC.
Until recently, it was believed that cats were first domesticated in the country around 1950 BC.
But evidence of pet cats has also been found in China, indicating cat-cared farmers in 3300 BC.
As a revered animal, cats could receive the same mummification as humans. Their remains were often dedicated to the goddess Bastet. Pictured: Astatue found at Saqqara
Cats were also used as religious sacrifices in ancient Egypt over 5,500 years ago.
Known as the “Mau”, they were important in later Egyptian society and became symbols of grace.
Two goddesses took the form of cats – Mafdet, a goddess of justice and execution with a lion’s head and Bastet, representing fertility and motherhood.
As a revered animal, cats could be mummified after death, and their remains were often dedicated to Bastet.
It is believed that there were four main reasons for mummifying animals: To be worshiped as manifestations of certain gods, as offerings to gods, to provide food in the afterlife, and to allow loved ones to live in the afterlife.
In total, the team has found 585 animals so far, some of which are not from Africa.
The vast majority – more than 90% – were cats, although there were also dogs, baboons and two species of macaques from the Indian subcontinent.
Of the dogs, most were light-colored Spitz, although they were larger toy dogs and canines, rather like mastiffs.
Many of the cats wore metal collars or necklaces wrapped in ostrich shell beads.
Osypinska told science that many of the animals were covered with textiles or ceramics, “which formed a kind of sarcophagus.”
The animals were not thrown at random, but carefully placed in individual pits.
A feline was placed on the wing of a large bird, the magazine reported.
In consultation with a veterinarian, Osypinska’s team was able to determine several of the animals that had diseases that would have killed them without human caregivers.
The remains of a dog suffering from bone cancer were found in a carpet of palm leaves covered with an amphora, according to the Archeology News Network.
The belly also contains leftover fish and goat meat, the final meal.
Other canines lacked most of their teeth, had gum disease, or showed signs of joint degeneration.
“We have people with very limited mobility,” Osypinska said. “Such animals had to be fed to survive, sometimes with special food for almost toothless animals.”
The type of devotion needed to breastfeed an elderly pet shows that the people of Berenice had strong emotional ties to the domesticated animals, according to the report.
Archaeologists have discovered common graves in Egypt before, but creatures were almost always either sacrificed or worshiped, not treated as pets.
Dozens of mummified cats were found in 2018 at the edge of the King Userkaf pyramid complex at the ancient necropolis in Saqqara, south of Cairo.
A few years earlier, a maze of sacred tunnels was discovered in the same region, full of the mummified remains of up to eight million dogs, some of whom were only a few hours old when they were slaughtered.
Other canines were treated as living representatives of the dog-headed god Anubis, living his life in the nearby temple before being kept and waited in the network of tunnels.
The people of Berenike treated these animals as loving companions, Osypinska insists: “They did not do it for the gods or for any utilitarian use.”