eight million dogs is excavated in egypt

8/4/2019 EIGHT MILLION Dogs is Excavated in Egypt

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Catacomb of secret tunnels packed with mummified remains of EIGHT MILLION dogs is excavated in EgyptByFIONA MACRAELast updated at 9:05 AM on 31st March 2011

Many of the animals were offered to the gods when they were just hours oldA labyrinth of sacred tunnels packed with the mummified remains of millions of dogs has beenexcavated under the Egyptian desert.The catacombs are estimated to contain the remains up to eight million dogs, many of which wouldhave been offered to the gods when they were just hours old.Others would have been treated as living representatives of the dog or jackal-headed god Anubis andwould have lived out their lives in the nearby temple before being preserved and laid to rest in the

network of tunnels.Enlarge

Remains: One of eight million dogs archaeologists believe are buried in a labyrinth of sacred tunnels under the Egyptiandesert
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Enlarge

Egyptologist Hendrikje Nouwens examines a dog buried in a special wall niche - the remains of the wooden coffin canbe seen. Many of the dogs would have been offered to the gods when they were just hours old
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Many dogs would have been treated as living representatives of jackal-headed god Anubis

The fascinating details come from Cardiff University scientists, who along with Egyptian colleaguesare the first to examine the structure and contents of the complex underground network built 2,500years ago under the Saqqara desert.The catacomb, which lies ten to 12metres underground, consists of a long central corridor and aseries of smaller passages that branch off it.Sampling of small areas and bone examination of their contents suggest that the entire network ishome to eight million dogs, as well as a handful of cats and jackals.Some of the dogs were killed and mummified just days or even hours after birth.With the need to mummify so many animals, perhaps thousands per year, it is likely the animals werebred in puppy farms dotted around the ancient capital of Memphis. Pilgrims, who were not necessarily particularly well-off, bought the dogs, then paid for them to bemummified, in the hope of currying favour with the canine-headed god, Anubis.As one of the most important gods of the dead, Anubis was particularly worth pleasing.

Dr Paul Nicholson, of Cardiff Universitys School of History, Archaeology and Religion, said: Theseanimals were not strictly sacrificial.Rather, the dedication of an animal mummy was regarded as a pious act, with the animal acting asan intermediary between the donor and the gods.The excavation, which was funded by National Geographic, also revealed that some dogs wereinterred individually, in niches in the tunnel walls.

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Mind-boggling discovery: Perfectly preserved brain of Iron Age man unearthed in YorkIt is thought the animals afforded this sort of burial lived in the temples where they were treated asliving embodiments of Anubis.

While Dr Nicholsons team are the first to examine the tunnels in detail, they are not the first todiscover them, with geological work pointing to the tunnels being raided in the 1900s.
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Professor Salima Ikram examines one set of remains. The entire network of catacombs is also home to a handful ofcats and jackals

Maze of tunnels: The excavation also revealed that some dogs were interred individually in the tunnel walls


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It is thought that a small tunnel was built to remove animal mummies which were then likely ground upand sold as fertiliser.Dr Nicholson told the Daily Mail: There are newspaper reports of boatloads of cat mummies beingbrought into Liverpool for use as fertiliser and it is likely some of the dog mummies went the sameway - although not necessarily to Liverpool.The dog catacomb is the larger of two in the area. The Saqqara desert also contains catacombs

dedicated to bulls, cows, baboons, ibises, hawks and cats. It is thought the practice died out after the Romans conquered Egypt in 30BC.

Hidden mysteries: Cardiff University scientists and their Egyptian colleagues are the first to examine the structure andcontents of the complex underground network built 2,500 years ago under the Saqqara desert

Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1371492/Catacomb-secret-tunnels-packed-mummified-

remains-EIGHT-MILLION-dogs-excavated-Egypt.html#ixzz1UnnvQNOU
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eight million dogs is excavated in egypt

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