In Egypt, scientists have discovered the burial of eight million dogs mummies

In ancient Egypt, the cult of Anubis was strong - the god of death with the head of a jackal. During the new study, archaeologists studied the catacombs near his temple and found nearly eight million mummified puppies and dogs.

The Egyptians erected a temple and a catacomb in honor of Anubis at Saqqara, a village 30 kilometers south of Cairo. It is the oldest necropolis of the capital of the ancient kingdom - Memphis. Archaeologists have previously found in these places the catacombs with mummified remains of ibis, hawks, baboons and bulls.

“Today, tourists coming to Saqqara see a desert area with several pyramids and a couple of famous animal monuments,” says lead author Paul Nicholson, professor of archeology at Cardiff University. “But if you had a chance to visit Saqqara during the late period, 747-332 BC, you would have seen temples, merchants selling statues of bronze deities, priests leading ceremonies, people offering to interpret dreams. Probably, livestock breeders lived somewhere nearby, raising dogs and other animals so that they would then be mummified in honor of the gods. It was a busy place."

It has been known for a long time that the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt actively mummified animals. Even the Roman poet Juvenal wrote that “crazy Egyptians” honor monstrous deities, and you can find entire cities dedicated to cats, river fish or dogs.

Many of the mummies survived to our days in a very poor state: they either scattered or were stolen by robbers or farmers as fertilizer.

However, archaeologists have found enough evidence that the animals used in the cult of Anubis were an important part of the ancient Egyptian economy. Many historians agree that temples and catacombs in the city stimulated trade and commerce, in some way they could be called the foundation of mass tourism in those times.