SAQQARA, EGYPT—Live Science reports that two mummified lions have been discovered among about 100 statues of cats and other figures, some 20 cat mummies, and a scarab measuring more than one foot in diameter in a 2,600-year-old tomb in the Saqqara necropolis. Mostafa Waziri of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said the lion mummies are the first of their kind to be found in Egypt, and, because they measure only about three feet long, the animals may not have been fully grown at the time of death. The mummies of three other large cats found near the lions have not yet been identified, but may represent leopards, cheetahs, or other big cat species. The decorated statues were made of stone, wood, and bronze, and some were inlaid with gold. A small ebony statue of Neith, goddess of the city of Sais, the capital of Egypt during the 26th dynasty, helped the researchers date the tomb and its contents, Waziri explained. For more on animal mummies, go to "Messengers to the Gods."
