During the pharaonic period in Egypt, the worship of Anubis, the jackal headed god engendered the construction of catacombs next to his sacred temple which once held nearly 8 million mummified puppies and dogs. Built in Saqqara, a burial ground in the ancient capital of Memphis.
Studies[]
Many of the mummies have disintegrated or been destroyed by grave robbers and industrialists, who likely used the mummies for fertilizer. Archaeologists have found enough evidence to suggest that the Anubis cult was a large part of the ancient Egyptian economy. The catacombs were likely built in the fourth century B.C. and were made out of common stone. In addition to dogs, mummies of different animals like cats, foxes, falcons and mongoose were found; but they were less than 10% of the total mummies found.
In 1897, French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan published a paper on the necropolis at Memphis, and mentioned the canine catacombs. de Morgan drew a map showing two dog catacombs, but drifting sand and an earthquake in 1992 have made the smaller of the two inaccessible.
The catacomb, measures 568 feet (173 meters) down the center passageway, with a maximum width of 459 feet (140 m) from the branch corridors.
Pathology[]
Those mummies that were found were wrapped in bandages and mummified, including with a resin applied.
Additional[]
The huge number of dog mummies suggests the existence of ancient Egyptian 'puppy mills'. The catacombs are believed to date from between 750 to 30 B.C.
Speculation suggests that the young pups were separated from their mothers and died from dehydration or starvation as there was no evidence of broken necks as seen in many animal offerings. The important thing was to provide a representation of the god with a fitting burial.
Animal cults remained popular from about 747 B.C. to 30 B.C., but they declined during the Roman occupation.
References[]
https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/20/africa/egyptian-millions-mummified-dogs/index.html
http://news.discovery.com/history/ancient-egypt/8-million-dog-mummies-found-in-mass-grave-150619.htm
http://www.livescience.com/51228-photos-egyptian-dog-catacombs.html
https://www.livescience.com/51232-millions-of-dog-mummies-found.html