Unbelievable, approximately 8 million mummified animals have been found at Saqqara Egypt. The majority appears to have been burred only hours after they were born.
Saqqara, also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English, is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis.
During routine excavations at the dog catacomb in Saqqara necropolis, an excavation team led by Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at The American University in Cairo (AUC), and an international team of researchers led by Paul Nicholson of Cardiff University have uncovered almost 8 million animal mummies at the burial site.
Studies on their bones revealed that those dogs are from different breeds but not accurately identified yet.
“We are recording the animal bones and the mummification techniques used to prepare the animals,” Ikram said.
Studies on the mummies, Ikram explains, revealed that some of them were old while the majority were buried hours after their birth. She said that the mummified animals were not limited to canines but there are cat and mongoose remains in the deposit.
