Ancient Eye-Witness
Once a year the Festival of Bast is held here:
Men and women come sailing all together, vast numbers in each boat, many of the women with castanets, which they strike, while some of the men pipe during the whole time of the voyage; the remainder of the voyagers, male and female, sing the while, and make a clapping with their hands. When they arrive opposite any of the towns upon the banks of the stream, they approach the shore, and, while some of the women continue to play and sing, others call aloud to the females of the place and load them with abuse, while a certain number dance, and some standing up uncover themselves.
After proceeding in this way all along the river-course, they reach Bubastis, where they celebrate the feast with abundant sacrifices. More grape-wine is consumed at this festival than in all the rest of the year besides. The number of those who attend, counting only the men and women and omitting the children, amounts, according to the native reports, to seven hundred thousand.
Histories of Herodotus, Herodotus c.484-425 BCE
The Long History of
Per Bast - Bubastis - Tell Basta
History
The town of Per Bast had an important location at the road between MenNefer (Gr: Memphis) and the Sinai. It´s history goes back to the 4th Dynasty all the way into the Roman Period. It reached it's heyday in the 3rd Intermediate Period and served as the capital of the 18th Sepat in the Late Period. There was a central road running through it and several kings have left traces here; the probably widespread town had cult temples erected by Khufu and Khafre (Dyn 4) as well as ka temples by Teti and Pepi I (Dyn 6). Of these not much is left today but to the north there is an Old Kingdom cemetery and even a Protodynastic tomb.
Palaces and Temples
In the Middle Kingdom, Amenemhet III built a heb-sed chapel here, and a palace has recently been restored, believed to be his too. There are halls, chambers and columns, plaques of Bast, and statues of Amenemhat III and his ministers. Mudbrick storage buildings dating to the Greco-Roman Period were found not far from the palace site. In the Late Period, Dyn. 22, Osorkon I was decorating the wall around the Temple of Bast and built a small temple to Atum. Osorkon II celebrated his Heb Sed in his 22nd regnal year by building a new court, an entrance hall and a granite gateway with excellent reliefs. And Osorkon III built the Temple of Maahes, a festival hall and a hypostyle hall. Later, in Dyn. 30, Nectanebo II had a new shrine built, and the Romans added another temple.
Cemeteries
The cemeteries found here are many. Notable people included two Viceroys of Kush from the 11th and 12th Dynasties who rest here, as well as a Vizier, also from the 12th Dynasty. In the 3rd Intermediate Period, Bast began to change from a lion deity to a cat goddess and at this time animal cemeteries appear. To the north of the temple there are vaulted mudbrick tombs for millions of mummified cats which were associated with the cult of Bast.
"Lucky Cat Goddess"
There is a well among the temple ruins which goes back some thousand years. The ground around it is covered with thousands of pottery sherds. The pottery was used in drawing water from the well, then smashed against a statue of Bast for luck. The well is also connected with the legend of the Holy Family´s journey through Egypt.
Temple of Bast
The Temple of Bast, built from red granite, was centrally located, to the southeast of the central road and surrounded by canals. It goes back to at least the Old Kingdom with some stone blocks suggesting that Ramesses II made some additions to it. In 1906, local workmen discovered a hoard of gold and silver vessels nearby and some jewellery. The earliest item in this find was dated to the Ramesside era.
Excavations
Excavations are still going on in the area and many interesting things have been revealed. In the 90´s a cache of gold figurines and faience was found, and a granite gateway dating to the Old Kingdom. In the 2002 and 03, a colossal statue of Bast, with inscriptions, was found. It measures 11 m and was probably standing in front of a temple from that period. Housing areas nearby will be excavated during the 2008 season.
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