When the Roman army conquered Egypt (in 30 BC), the soldiers were in awe of the monuments they saw – just like every previous visitor or conqueror. But there was another aspect of ancient Egyptian civilisation that captivated the legionaries: the Egyptian ginger cat. The Romans had never before seen such animals. Ginger cats were at that time only found in Egypt, with the exception of a few that were taken to Persia following the earlier Achaemenid conquest of Egypt (525 BC). A few went to nearby countries with whom the Egyptians traded.
Ancient armies welcomed cats because they killed the rats that would otherwise consume the grain and flour from which the soldier’s bread was made. Accordingly, the soldiers added these special cats to their ranks, taking the animals with them on leaving Egypt.
The cat in Egypt
Cats had been pets and guardians of the granaries in Egypt for over 2,000 years before the Romans arrived on the scene. They are among the earliest known animals to be domesticated, with tame cats known from the early Old Kingdom, when the two lands were first united. When brought into a home as kittens, they readily bond with the family and become affectionate pets, and, as they are inherently fastidious, they are quickly house-broken. This is a significant advantage over having dogs as pets. Feral cats, however, are notoriously difficult to domesticate, but, if undisturbed, they will instinctively protect the storage areas simply because these are good hunting grounds for them.
Excavating the East Midlands