For more than three millennia, the city of Bubastis was one of the most important cities of the Nile Delta and all of Egypt. It was the cult center of the lioness goddess Bastet, who became most famous in her later form as a sacred cat. The Greek historian Herodotus visited the city and gave a lively description of its temple and the famous cultic festivals of the goddess. Although the temple of Bastet is badly destroyed, excavations in the last 150 years have revealed much of its grandeur. Apart from the temple, the ancient site boasts other important monuments and buildings, including palaces, residences, further temples, and extensive cemeteries, some of which are unique in Egyptian archaeology.

Eva Lange-Athinodorou, the director of the Tell Basta Project, a German-Egyptian archaeological mission at Bubastis, provides a vivid summary of its archaeological remains, combining old results with the latest research conducted by the project.