One of the gods worshiped by the ancient Egyptians was the jackel-headed god of Death Anubis.

Researchers have determined that the catacombs located next to Anubis’ temple in Saqqara at one point contained up to 8 million mummified puppies and dogs. Many of the remains are now gone, disrupted by grave robbers and those using the mummified bodies as fertilizer. This new study is the first to analyze these catacombs in depth, although they have been briefly mentioned in earlier works. The catacombs were likely built in the fourth century B.C.

Egypt-dog-catacombs
layout by S. Mills, S. Williams and H. Nouwens

Picture credit: P.T. Nicholson