In ancient Egypt, animals were an integral part of religious practices from the Predynastic Period onwards, with their symbolic and physical roles evolving over time. Various animal taxa associated with Egyptian deities were placed in animal necropoleis and tombs across various locations of Egypt. The sequence of events and elements throughout long history of Egypt can be seen as intertwined, ultimately leading to the peak of the use of animals in religious practices in the Late Period (7th - 4th centuries BCE) and reached its most intense form in the Greco-Roman period (4th century BCE - 4th century CE), a phenomenon of millions of animal mummies and corpses deposited in animal necropoleis and tombs.

Long neglected by researchers, the last few decades have seen a growing interest in the ancient Egyptian animal cult. Nevertheless, questions remain still unanswered. There are clear deficits in the area of the re-contextualization of once interrelated material remains and the associated possible re-evaluation. Through a strong link between Egyptian iconography as well as archaeological and textual sources and modern palaeogenomics, the project aims to create a stronger platform for the evaluation of certain finds and findings on the one hand and, on the other, to identify and, in an initial approach, evaluate certain research questions that will be explored in an exploratory workshop.

Whilst various approaches can be taken to the animal cult from different aspects, the exploratory workshop will focus on the following three topics: 1. Gods and priests; 2. Re-contextualization of objects; 3. Genetics and physical faunal remains.

By convening specialists who approach Egyptian animal cult from diverse perspectives—philological, iconographic, archaeological, religious-historical, molecular biological, museological and zooarchaeological—and by synthesizing current research, this workshop aims to identify avenues for collaboration between Japanese and German colleagues on the subject of animal worship.