This study draws on recent work at North Saqqara and considers how the many thousands (arguably millions) of sacred animals buried there might have been procured, prepared, and presented to the deities concerned. Evidence from recent work suggests that the votive animals would have been required in huge numbers which must have had a significant impact on breeding populations and so might have required specialist breeding institutions.
The production and dedication of items of material culture such as votive bronze figurines and situlae as well as wooden figurines is considered as part of what might legitimately be described as the “visitor experience” of those engaging with the cults at Saqqara. An image of Saqqara as a vibrant center of religious life for ordinary individuals from the local area and beyond can be suggested.
The study speculates on how much visitors—who might be considered as “pilgrims” —to the site knew about the operation of the cults and the ways in which the animals might have been procured as well as what their experience of Saqqara and their expectation of the animal and other dedications might have been.
Saqqara; sacred animals; mummification; votive mummies
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