By David Grimm Feb. 26, 2021 , 10:45 AM The cats and dogs lie as if asleep, in individual graves. Many wore collars or other adornments, and they had been cared for through injury and old age, like today’s pets. But the last person to bury a beloved animal companion in this arid Egyptian land on the coast of the Red Sea did so nearly 2000 years ago. The site, located in the early Roman port of Berenice, was found a decade ago, but its purpose was mysterious. Now a detailed excavation has unearthed the burials of nearly 600 cats and dogs, along with the strongest evidence yet that these animals were treasured pets. That would make the site the oldest known pet cemetery, the authors argue, suggesting that the modern concept of pets wasn’t alien to the ancient world. “I’ve never encountered a cemetery like this,” says Michael MacKinnon, a zooarchaeologist at the University of Winnipeg who has studied the role of animals across the bygone Mediterranean but was not involved with … [Read more...] about Graves of nearly 600 cats and dogs in ancient Egypt may be world’s oldest pet cemetery