A 1,200-year-old clay jug showed marks left by a cat, which had seemingly kneaded the pottery while it was drying before it was fired.
Israel by Blake-Ezra Cole / Alamy Stock PhotoA stray white cat in Jerusalem.
Anyone who has seen a happy cat has seen it knead: stretch out, purr, and gently massage the closest object (or person) with its paws. Now, archaeologists in Jerusalem have discovered the earliest known archaeological evidence of a cat kneading on a piece of 1,200-year-old clay.
The cat — unconcerned that someone had left the wet clay out to dry — apparently started kneading into it, leaving evidence of a feline enjoying what must have been a moment of contentment on a sunny afternoon.
Discovering The Kneading Marks On A Piece Of 1,200-Year-Old Clay
The Mount Zion Archaeological Expedition/Shimon GibsonThe kneading marks were spotted during an examination of pottery fragments found just outside the walls of Old City of Jerusalem.
The discovery of the cat’s kneading marks came by accident. According to a report from Haaretz, laboratory director Gretchen Cotter was looking over artifacts collected outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem during an excavation project at Mount Zion when something caught her eye.
One of the pottery fragments — a piece of a 1,200-year-old clay jug — seemed to have claw marks. Specifically, the clay piece had an imprint of a cat’s foreleg and toe pads as well as grooves seemingly left by the animal extending and retracting its claws. In other words, kneading marks.
“The paw print itself had a measurement of around [1.2 square inches], and the claw markings were still evident, cut deeply into the clay,” Shimon Gibson, the co-director of the archaeological project and a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, told Haaretz.
It was clear from the claw marks that the cat had not walked on the clay. Rather, it seemed that it had approached the jug while it was still drying, perhaps on a windowsill.
“The paw print indicates that the small cat was probably reclined on the curving edge of the jug, likely basking in the sun,” Gibson said. “We can only [imagine] that it was purring as it soaked up the Jerusalem sun.”
That said, it is possible that the cat clawed at the clay because it had started to fall or that it was leaping from place to place and landed briefly on the jug. However, it seems likely that the animal was happy and relaxed and simply started “making biscuits” on the nearest object.
The Mount Zion Archaeological Expedition/Shimon GibsonA clearer look at the impression that the cat left on the 1,200-year-old piece of clay.
This may be an archaeological first, but it’s far from the only time that an animal left its mark on an ancient artifact.
Evidence Of Dogs And Cats On Ancient Objects
As long as humans have been building homes or crafting items, dogs and cats living with them have left their marks. In 2014, paw prints — and hoof prints — were discovered on Roman-era tiles in England. In 2017, paw prints left by a cat were uncovered on the remains of a Roman-era roof. Recently, in 2023, archaeologists also found dog paw prints at a 1,900-year-old Roman settlement in Romania.
Andrei ButaThe 1,900-year-old dog paw print found on a roof tile, which may have been left when the tile was drying in a yard.
But the cat prints found in Jerusalem are somewhat unique. They were seemingly not left by an animal running across a roof or through a yard, but rather one stretched out in utter bliss. It goes to show how little cats (and perhaps humans) have changed over the past 1,000 years.
After reading about the first known archaeological evidence of a cat kneading, look through these stories of heroic dogs who earned the title of “Man’s Best Friend.” Or, learn about places around the world that have become completely overrun with cats.
