Talking Pyramids

The big news today was the announcement of the discovery of the remains of a temple belonging to the Ptolemaic Queen Berenike at Kom el-Dikka in Alexandria.

A large number of statues of the cat goddess Bastet were uncovered at the site indicating the temple was dedicated to the worship of Bastet.

From the website of Dr Zahi Hawass:

Dr. Maqsoud pointed out that the Bastet statues were unearthed in three different areas of the site along with other limestone statues of unidentified children and women. Clay pots as well as bronze and faience statues of different ancient Egyptian deities have been also uncovered, along with terracotta statues of the gods Harpocrates and Ptah.
Early studies on site revealed that the temple’s foundation can be dated to the reign of Queen Berenike, making this the first Ptolemaic temple discovered in Alexandria to be dedicated to the goddess Bastet. It also indicates that the worship of the goddess Bastet continued in Egypt after the decline of the ancient Egyptian era.

• Artefact of the day: Magic knife (pesheskef) inscribed for King Khufu, Dynasty 4, reign of Khufu, 2551-2528 B.C.:
  http://bit.ly/7AQfeF #
• RT @slynnks @UChicagoMag @adamjfisher1 —- Was Cleopatra beautiful? http://bit.ly/8gfKHe #
• COURSE: Art and life in ancient Egypt: the Nebamun wall paintings. Delivered entirely online: http://bit.ly/4mYz9b #
• Eat like an Egyptian – Food recipes from Ancient Egypt: http://bit.ly/6Iq7pI #
• Exhibition: 'Ippolito Rosellini and the Dawn of Egyptology' in Cairo from January 26 to the end of the February: http://bit.ly/73QaBx #
• Reminder: NOVA – Riddles of the Sphinx – tonight on PBS: http://bit.ly/4tj1jX #
• PHOTO: Pyramids of Giza, by fran_ce8: http://bit.ly/8r5U2Q #
• Assistance needed to understand the needs and requirements of a digital library of Arabic manuscripts: http://bit.ly/60IECk #
• Conservation and Management of the Tomb of Tutankhamen: http://bit.ly/7dyaSq #
• Bastet Temple Discovered at Kom el-Dikka in Alexandria with hundreds of statues including some depicting Bast: http://bit.ly/5uT0FV #

Photo The British Museum-Ancient Egyptian Cat by AKinsey Foto. Some rights reserved.

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