DISCOVERIES
Naville, it turned out, was
right. Both his study, and
subsequent others, have re-
vealed that the shrine (which
incorporated older struc-
tures) was begun by Pha-
raoh Osorkon II in the ninthcentury B.C. His dynasty
reigned from nearby Tanis,
thus increasing the impor-
tance of Bubastis in the re-
gion, and adding yet more
luster to the Bastet cult.The Bubastis Treasure
In the fall of 1906 an amazing
find was made near the ex-
cavation site. A railroad was
being built near Tell Basta,
and workmen hit on a trea-
sure hoard buried near the
remains of the temple.
Inscriptions on many of
the objects date to the 19th
dynasty during the NewKingdom (ca 1539-1075 B.C.),
before Osorkon II’s reign
and his restoration of
Bastet’s temple. It is not
clear why the hoard was
buried. Some scholars spec-
ulate it could have been bur-
ied for safekeeping, either
by looters who never came
back for it or by priests to
protect it.
The treasures were of
great value at the time. A
gold cup sculpted to resem-
ble lotus petals bears the
name of the 12th- century B.C.
queen Tawosret, the con-
sort of Pharaoh Seti II.
Tradition holds she was
the queen of Egypt during
the Trojan War. Schol-
ars believe that the queenTHE RED GRANITE RUINS of the
Temple of Bastet lie near the
outskirts of the modern city of
Zagazig in the eastern Nile Delta.
JIM HENDERSON/ALAMY/ACIARALDO DE LUCAAlcandra mentioned in Ho-
mer’s Odyssey was Tawosret.
Workers found anoth-
er cache later that fall with
more treasures, including
gold armlets inscribed with
the name of Ramses II. Aside
from their beauty, these ob-
jects give great insight into
the importance of Bubastis
as a center of trade and com-
merce. Certain motifs on
some of the objects are not
Egyptian, and the presence
of silver—unobtainable in
Egypt—suggests extensive
trade with Greece or king-
doms in Anatolia. Gold was
brought from Nubia, its rar-
ity associated with royalty.—Irene CordónA GOLDEN, GOAT-SHAPED HANDLE
ADORNS A SILVER CUP FOUND AT TELL
BASTA IN 1906. EGYPTIAN MUSEUM, CAIRO