Old Kingdom Tomb Yields Cat Artifacts and Mummies

CAIRO, EGYPT—According to an NPR report, dozens of mummified cats, 100 gilded cat statues, and a bronze statue of Bastet, the goddess of cats, were discovered in a 4,500-year-old tomb in the Saqqara necropolis. The tomb also contained mummified scarab beetles in sealed sarcophagi decorated with images of scarabs. Two of the largest beetles were wrapped in linen. “The (mummified) scarab is something really unique,” said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. To read about another recent discovery in Egypt, go to “Let Them Eat Soup.”