Period : Old kingdom
State : Ruined
Address: 3 km southeast from the city of Zagazig
على بُعد 3 كم جنوب شرق مدينة الزقازيق
The ruins of ancient Bubastis , once the capital of the 18th Nome of Am-Khent (the Bubastite nome) in Lower
Egypt
, are located 3 km southeast from the city of
Zagazig
in Sharqiya . The city's name , which comes from the ancient Egyptian Per-Bastet , means 'The Place of Bastet' , the cat-lioness goddess identified with Sekhmet , the wife of Ptah . It also hosted the feast celebrating the cat-goddess . The whole city acquired massive importance during the Ramesside Period and it became the capital of Egypt during the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Dynasties . Today , the site contains some blocks and ruins of temples built by both Osorkon II (883-850 BC) and Nectanebo II (360-342 BC) . Additionally , there are also catacombs for cats , which date back to the Old Kingdom , from the period of King
Pepi I
(2289-2255 BC) .
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