8 million dog mummies discovered in ancient Egyptian catacomb built for the animal cult of Anubis

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Nearly 8 million mummified puppies and grown dogs have been discovered in the catacombs of the sacred temple of Anubis in Egypt.

The catacomb ceiling also contains the fossil of an ancient sea monster more than 48 million years old… Amazing!

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The main axial aisle of the underground canine catacomb built for the animal cult of Anubis, the god of death and funerals. Photo credit: P.T. Nicholson

People have known about Egypt’s penchant for mummifying animals for more than a thousand years. But discovering more than 8 millions of puppy and dog mummies in a single place. That’s crazy!

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Ancient complete canine mummy in the newly discovered catacomb. Photo credit: P.T. Nicholson

And what about this mysterious sea creature… A guardian of the tomb of the canine mummies? Or simply a fossil in the stone used to build the 568 feet (173 meters) by 459 feet (140 m) catacomb?

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Wooden coffin in the catacomb containing parts of mummified body. Photo credit: P.T. Nicholson

This mortual chamber also contained mummified remains of other animals like the jackals, foxes, falcons, cats and mongoose.

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Head and neck of adult dog found in the catacomb. Photo: P.T. Nicholson)

Ancient Egyptians built the temple and catacomb in honor of Anubis in Saqqara. Well it seems that Anubis was pretty important, isn’t it?

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The mummified dogs have been discovered within the burial grounds at Saqqara.

The rearch findings have been published in the Journal of archeology Antiquity. More about this research can be read in Live Science.

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