Photos: Queen's Cat Goddess Temple Found in Egypt
Egyptian Limestone Cat Statue
Photograph courtesy Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities
January 21, 2010—This limestone feline is among some 600 cat statues from a newfound temple dedicated to the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet. The ancient temple was recently discovered under the streets of modern-day Alexandria, Egypt.
Egyptian archaeologists who found the temple say it was built by Queen Berenike II, wife of Greek King Ptolemy III, who ruled Egypt from 246 to 221 B.C.
Cats were important house pets in ancient Egypt and were often depicted in private tombs. In some cases, cats were mummified in the same way as humansand buried at temples.
"This is one of the most important discoveries in Alexandria in the last hundred years," said Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, head of antiquities of Lower Egypt for the Supreme Council of Antiquities and lead archaeologist for the find.
—Andrew Bossone in Cairo
Published January 21, 2010
Bastet Temple Excavation
Photograph courtesy Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities
The excavated Bastet temple currently measures 197 feet (60 meters) tall by 49 feet (15 meters) wide—and archaeologists think they've found only half of the temple so far.
In addition to the findings from the Ptolemaic period, the temple ruins include a Roman water cistern made up of several 46-foot-deep (14-meter-deep) wells, stone water channels, and the remains of a bath area.
In addition to the findings from the Ptolemaic period, the temple ruins include a Roman water cistern made up of several 46-foot-deep (14-meter-deep) wells, stone water channels, and the remains of a bath area.
Published January 21, 2010
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