Scientists in Egypt recently stumbled upon a rather amazing — and morbid — discovery: about 8 million dogs int he catacombs of Anubis around Saqqara, a popular dig site.

Mass burials aren’t uncommon due to the prevalence of animal cults in ancient Egypt, but British researchers were shocked at the sheer scale of this particular burial, according to a CNN report.

Project director Paul Nicholson of Cardiff University said that the team was “pleased and somewhat surprised” by what they had found. They had not expected to encounter such a vast colleciton of animals, which raises questions for them.

Dogs were revered because it was believed that they could interact with the god Anubis, an ancient Egyptian god that is often depicted with the head of a dog and body of a man.

By burying the dogs with them, the owner was hoping that good will come to him, and maybe it will help some relatives.

Scientists have dated these catacombs at between 750 and 30 B.C., which was around the time that Egypt’s society was starting to connect more with Europe.

Nicholson and his team are now attempting to conduct a more complete study that examines the Saqqara site further and looks for other animal catacombs.

Nicholson said that the team was curious about where the animals came from, and these discoveries are shedding new light on how Egyptians interacted with their animals, something he called “exciting,” according to the report.

The findings were published in the journal Antiquity.

Anubis first emerged around 3100 B.C. as a protector of graves during the First Dynasty of Egypt. He was also an embalmer, although he was replaced by Osiris at around 2000 B.C. as the lord of the underworld. He is often shown with a weighing scale as a symbol of his role of determining if a soul should be allowed to enter the afterlife.