Mummified Cat

Since this week www.demuseumwinkel.com has a mummified Cat from Ancient Egypt (+/- 3000 years old) in the assortment. Originally the mummy was brought to Nijmegen for restoring. But we had the opportunity to buy it.

This week we have made an X-ray. Cats known in ancient Egypt were considered sacred in ancient Egyptian society. Based on recent DNA comparisons of living species, it has been estimated that cats were first domesticated from the Middle Eastern subspecies of the wildcat about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. Thousands of years later, the peoples in what would later be Upper and Lower Egypt had a religion centering on the worship of animals, including cats.

As a revered animal and one important to Egyptian society and religion, some cats received the same mummification after death as humans. Mummified cats were given in offering to Bast. Because cats were a cheap offer for pelgrims, a lot of cats were killed for this purpose. On the X-ray you can see that the skull of the cat has had a blow on the backside. The body of the cat is still in a very good condition. 

In the end of this year restorating will take place togeher with The National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden.