TORONTO —
Researchers from Poland have uncovered an ancient Egyptian pet cemetery containing the remains of nearly 600 animals, including cats, dogs and monkeys.
Researchers first discovered the cemetery in 2011, in the ancient transcontinental port of Berenice, along the coast of the Red Sea. After nine years of excavation, the researchers found a total 585 animals: 536 cats, 32 dogs, 15 monkeys, one fox and one falcon.
“Their variety, both in terms of species and morphology, indicates that they came to Berenice from very different regions, even continents,” the researchers noted in the study.
The study, published in a January issue of World Archeology, dates the burial site back to sometime between AD 50-150 and notes that the animals appeared to be pets, as some had collars, while others had necklaces of beads and shells.
Some animals were also resting in makeshift coffins. In one case, a macaque monkey was buried alongside three kittens, a grass basket and two seashells around its head.
“Both the careful preparation of the burials, the remains of their diet and incontrovertible evidence of the human care of disabled individuals draws us to the conclusion that dogs, cats and monkeys enjoyed close emotional relationships and deliberate care,” the study notes.
Mummified animals, primarily cats, are sometimes found in ancient Egyptian tombs as a religious offerings for the afterlife. The researchers note that not a single animal in this cemetery was mummified.
In ancient Egypt, animals were often had a purpose in the house, such as cats fending off mice or dogs used for hunting. However, in this case, the researchers found several animals that would have been unable to work, such as older animals with deformities and “toy” dogs too small to hunt or protect the home.
For the researchers, these animals are further evidence that the animals in the cemetery where companions rather than tools.
“Strong evidence, archaeozoological, veterinary and textual, clearly indicate that the people living in Berenice nearly two thousand years ago looked after ‘non-utilitarian’ animals in similar ways as today,” the researchers note in the study.
“We are able to clearly identify and recognize the relationships between humans and animals whose only task could have been providing a person with companionship, perhaps emotional entertainment.”
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