Cats were sacred to the goddess Bastet, whose cult center was at Bubastis in the Nile Delta. From the Late Period onward, enormous numbers of cats were bred in temple catteries, mummified, and sold to pilgrims to offer to the goddess, then buried in dedicated cemeteries.
These mummies show the care that went into their wrappings: strips of linen were arranged in geometric patterns, and heads were often shaped with modeled ears and painted faces, while some were placed in cat-shaped coffins of wood or bronze.
