Cats in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt is well-known for its reverence for cats. Cats in ancient Egypt were prominent in society, symbolizing various attributes such as fertility, protection, and divine connection. We will explore the significance of cats in ancient Egypt, their roles in daily life, their religious beliefs, and their enduring legacy.
Cats as Divine Beings
Ancient Egyptians saw cats as divine. They worshipped them as manifestations of the goddess Bastet This feline goddess represented protection, motherhood, fertility, and joy. People believed cats possessed the goddess’s attributes, which blessed the household.
Domestication and Companionship
Ancient Egyptians domesticated cats. The presence of cat hieroglyphics, mummified remains, and cat-related artifacts shows their importance in daily life. People revered them for their companionship, affection, and ability to keep homes free from rodents.
Cats in Ancient Egyptian Society
Pest Control: Cats served a practical purpose in Egyptian society. They controlled the rodent population, which threatened crops and food stores. Egyptians highly valued their hunting skills. This made them indispensable to agriculture and household management.
Household Guardians: People believed cats had protective qualities. They admired their alertness, agility, and ability to ward off evil spirits and misfortune. Ancient Egyptians cherished the presence of cats in their homes. They considered them family guardians.
Bastet – The Cat Goddess
Bastet was the main feline goddess. She was associated with joy, protection, and fertility. People built temples in her honor. Devotees sought her blessings by offering mummified cats and cat-shaped amulets. Bastet represented the nurturing and protective instincts associated with motherhood.
Rituals and Worship
Egyptians worshipped cats. The cat was an important part of ancient Egyptian religious practices. People adorned them with jewelry and amulets. They even gave them special diets to show reverence and ensure their favor with the gods.
Legacy
The idea of cats as divine figures extended beyond their time. Sailors and travelers in neighboring lands encountered these magical creatures. They saw their association with Egyptian culture. Cats gradually spread throughout the Mediterranean region. Their reputation as protectors and bringers of good fortune remained intact.
Cats held a special place in ancient Egyptian society. They served as cherished companions, protectors, and objects of religious worship. Their association with the cat goddess Bastet elevated them to a divine status. Egyptians esteemed their qualities of agility, grace, and hunting prowess. The enduring legacy of cats in ancient Egypt is a testament to their significance. They helped shape the beliefs, customs, and daily lives of this remarkable civilization.
Ancient Egyptian Cat Excavations
In 1799, the French Commission des Sciences et des Arts began investigating the ancient city of Lycopolis near Asyut. They discovered mummified cats and other animal bones. They also found mummified cats and cat skeletons in the Theban Necropolis. By the 1820s, the Louvre Museum was displaying cat statues made from wood, metal, and enameled earthenware, mostly from Bubastis.
In 1830, Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg reported seeing three types of small cats in Egypt: the jungle cat, the African wildcat, and a sacred cat. He named the sacred cat Felis Bubastis.
The Bubastis Cat Graveyard
In the late 1880s, the Egypt Exploration Society funded excavations in Bubastis. Édouard Naville noted that people could already buy cat figurines in Cairo stores. He and his colleagues excavated five large trenches in the city’s cat graveyard. They unearthed 20 m3 (720 cu ft) of cat and Egyptian mongoose bones. Among the bones, they found embalming material, porcelain and bronze artifacts, beads, decorations, and sculptures of Bastet and Nefertem. By 1889, they considered the cemetery depleted.
Discoveries at Beni Hasan
In the late 1880s, archaeologists discovered over 200,000 mummified animals, mostly cats, at the Beni Hasan cemetery. In 1890, William Martin Conway reported on the excavations in Speos Artemidos near Beni Hasan: “The pillage of the cemetery was a sight to behold, but one had to stand well windward.”
Village children collected and sold the most beautiful mummies they could find to passengers on the riverbank. The walkway became covered with mummy fabric and pieces of cat skulls, bones, and fur. The wind blew the shards and odor everywhere. In 1890, a shipment of hundreds of animal mummies arrived in Liverpool. Most were felines. A large portion was sold for fertilizer, but the zoological museum at the city’s university campus acquired a small part.
Other Significant Cat Excavations
Lyon Museum:
Gaston Maspero unearthed hundreds of cat mummies in Beni Hasan, Sakkara, and Thebes. He donated them to the Lyon Museum of Fine Arts. The cats ranged from adults to kittens. Some were kept in sculptures and sarcophagi. The larger ones were wrapped in colorful fabric with decorative heads and ears made of rubbery tissue.
Faiyum:
In 1901, the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale supported excavations near Faiyum. Pierre Jouguet discovered a tomb filled with cat mummies. It was located among graves containing crocodile mummies.
Giza:
Flinders Petrie unearthed 192 mummified cats and 11 small carnivores at Gizeh. He donated them to the British Museum in 1907. Radiography on two of the mummies in 1980 showed they were intentionally strangled before the age of two. They were likely used as votive offerings.
Dakhla Oasis:
In the early 1980s, people discovered the remains of 23 cats in a small tomb at the archaeological site Balat. The tomb was built in the 25th century BC and later reused. The cats were likely mummified, as tissue pieces were still embedded in their bones.
Saqqara:
In the early 1980s, excavations in the Bubasteum district of Saqqara revealed 200 cat mummies in the tomb of Vizier Aperel. In the 1990s, another 184 mummies were found, along with 11 packets of cat bones and 84 packets of muck, clay, and stones. Radiographic examination showed that most of the cats were mummified. Most had skull fractures and displaced spinal bones, which indicated they had been beaten to death.
Tomb of Maia:
In 1996, archaeologists uncovered the tomb of Tutankhamun’s wet nurse, Maia. It contained cat mummies among human mummies. In 2001, they also discovered the bones of a male lion, which showed signs of mummification. It was possibly nine years old, had likely spent many years in captivity, and showed signs of starvation. It probably lived and died during the Ptolemaic era.
Anubis Tombs:
Excavations at the Anubis tombs at Saqqara began in 2009. Researchers discovered the mummified bones of 335 domestic and 29 wild cats there.
