Domestic experts from the Center for Egyptological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (CEIRAN) discovered in Egypt an ancient burial place of a boy surrounded by 142 dogs. The find dates from around the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. This is reported by Izvestia with reference to the Rostec State Corporation.

Excavations were carried out on the territory of the necropolis near the Coptic monastery of Deir el-Banat. Presumably in the grave was a boy of eight or nine years old. He was buried over the bodies of 142 dogs, most of which were puppies. This is a unique situation, since human and dog burials are extremely rare in this era. But among the found ritual graves, the number of dogs did not exceed 12.

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Archaeologists put forward several explanations for the mysterious burial. The thing is that dogs have always been special animals in the religious practice of the ancient Egyptians. So, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, the gods Anubis and Upuat accompanied the dead in the afterlife and were guides between people and gods. In addition, in later times, dogs were used as amulets or were used in sacrifices.

The head of the study believes that dogs could be collected in the vicinity, and approaching this selectively - most of the animals are still immature individuals. Probably they could live in some kind of nursery. Moreover, before direct burial, they lay for quite a long time near the water and began to decompose - this is evidenced by traces of clay, beetle larvae and flies on the bodies of dogs. It is possible that the child looked after the dogs that were intended for the rituals. In addition, the burial could have been part of a "posthumous healing" ritual.