Image Details

Egyptian cultural influence. A crown sits atop the head of the Egyptian deity Osiris, king of the dead and the underworld, in this bronze figurine from the fourth century B.C. Though Ashkelon was receptive to Egyptian culture and though Egyptians venerated dogs, it is not likely that the vast dog cemetery is related to Egyptian cult practices; most tellingly, the dogs of Ashkelon were not mummified, as were most canines ritually buried by the Egyptians.