Play Dead: Eight Million Dog Mummies Uncovered in Egyptian Catacombs

In an ongoing project to study the remains of an Egyptian catacomb dedicated to the canine-faced god Anubis, researchers have announced that they’ve uncovered the mummified remains of some 8 million dogs.

The project, being financed by National Geographic, aims to further understand the inner workings of the cult of Anubis, hopefully shedding light on the thought processes of it’s worshippers.

Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at The American University in Cairo (AUC), told National Geographic that “in some churches people light a candle, and their prayer is taken directly up to God in that smoke. In the same way, a mummified dog’s spirit would carry a person’s prayer to the afterlife”.

Making the find even more odd is that the majority of the canines, ranging many different breeds, were buried just hours after birth. Bummer.

For more on the find, including some other animals found in the catacombs, you can visit Ahram Online.

Greg Newkirk

Documentary film-maker, professional monster chaser, and mystery monger, Greg is also the contributing editor for Who Forted? 'Zine. When he's not occupied by writing about the wide world of the weird, he's busy directing and editing films like The Bigfoot Hunter: Still Searching or perusing used bookstores for antique occult books. He's currently in production on his new project: an original documentary web series titled Planet Weird, which you should totally check out. He currently lives in Toronto.

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