Egypt uncovers Late to Graeco-Roman burial complex in Nile Delta

Cairo, July 22 (AHN) Egypt has uncovered a new burial complex at the Tel El-Qweisna necropolis in the Nile Delta, shedding new light on funerary practices and trade links during the Late and Graeco-Roman periods, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Wednesday.

The discovery was made by an archaeological mission from Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities during ongoing excavations at the site in Menoufia Governorate, the ministry said in a statement.

The complex has a well-planned architectural layout, featuring a central hall connected to several vaulted burial chambers, providing researchers with fresh insights into the original design of burial structures from these eras, the ministry said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Uncovered along the complex were a wide range of funerary objects reflecting ancient Egyptian burial beliefs and rituals, it said. Among the most significant finds were 560 faience ushabti figurines of different sizes, some inscribed with passages from the Book of the Dead, an ancient Egyptian funerary text.

The mission also unearthed imported pottery from the Greek island of Rhodes, including part of a vessel handle bearing the potter's name, providing new archaeological evidence of active commercial exchanges between Ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean during the Late and Graeco-Roman periods, the ministry added.

Discovered in 1991, the Tel El-Qweisna necropolis is one of the most important burial sites in Egypt's central Nile Delta, preserving evidence of evolving funerary traditions across successive historical periods.

Last month, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities had announced the discovery of a portion of a Greco-Roman cemetery at the Tell Kom Aziza site in Beheira Governorate, north of Cairo, highlighting the area's significance as a multi-period settlement in the Nile Delta.

Excavations uncovered diverse burial styles, including simple pits, mud-brick-lined graves, painted plaster coffins, and barrel-shaped pottery coffins typical of the Ptolemaic period, the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy said the discovery offers an integrated view of settlement evolution, daily life, and human-environmental interaction over millennia.

Hisham Elleithy, the Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), noted that preliminary studies of human remains revealed remarkable diversity in burial rituals, orientations, and positions.