in bubastis, the festival began by making sacrifices to bastet. the temple of bast stood in the town center so that it could be seen from everywhere and stood on raised ground. the outside wall of the temple was decorated with pictures of animals and inside the temple was a courtyard, planted with a grove of trees surrounding her shrine. worshippers came from all over egypt, often leaving offerings, bronze statues, amulets and mummified cats in her temple. thousands of these cats were later found in underground crypts where her temple once stood.