Archaeologists have discovered 18 ancient tombs in an Egyptian city along the Mediterranean Sea.
Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a translation that the tombs – discovered at Marina el-Alamein (also known as Alamein), about 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of Alexandria – date back to the Ptolemaic (322 to 30 BC) or Roman (30 BC to 395 AD) period. statement Announcement of discovery.
During the Ptolemaic period, Egypt was ruled by the descendants of a of alexander the great While the Roman period began with the death of generals cleopatra viiWhen Egypt joined the Roman Empire as a province.
The team found that 11 tombs were dug underground, while seven others were located close to the ground surface. The tombs contained several artifacts – notably, 24 “golden tongues” that were probably inserted into the mummies’ mouths, and an offering altar whose base looked like a false door.
The entrance to one of the tombs at Marina al-Alamein (also called Alamein).
(Image credit: Courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
“The false door is one of the oldest and most recognizable elements of ancient Egyptian funerary architecture. In traditional Egyptian belief, it symbolizes the interface between the worlds of the living and the dead, through which the deceased can spiritually receive offerings presented by the living.” Hesham HussainUndersecretary for Lower Egypt and Sinai Archeology at Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities told Live Science in an email.
The fact that a false door design was carved into the altar “suggests that the symbolic meaning of the false door remained important even as its architectural function evolved,” Hussain said.
Some gold tongues were discovered inside the tombs. The ancient Egyptians believed that these tongues could help the deceased communicate in the afterlife.
(Image credit: Courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
gold tongues of ancient egypt
Sleep Tongues have been found in mummies At many ancient sites in Egypt. The ancient Egyptians believed in gold flesh of the godsAnd they believed that gold tongues could help the deceased communicate with those in the afterlife.
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“Gold tongues are a well-documented feature in some tombs from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods in Egypt,” Hussein said. “They are generally interpreted as symbolic funerary amulets intended to enable the deceased to speak in the afterlife, especially during the period before the Judgment. Osirisor more widely to communicate and recite the sacred sutras in the next world.”
Interestingly, the shape of one of the newly found gold tongues “eye of horus.” Horus was a falcon-headed god associated with the sky and war. According to the statement, his eye-shaped artifacts are often found in Egypt and were used to ward off evil.
However, it is unclear whether some of these artifacts are actually gold tongues, Attilio Mastrosinkthe former retired archeology professor at the University of Verona, Italy, told Live Science. Mastrocinque has written extensively about Greek and Roman religion but was not involved in this excavation.
After looking at photos posted by the ministry, he noted that an ear of wheat was visible in one of them. Ears of wheat were associated with fertility and images of them were popular in the ancient world. Mastrosink said the newly found artifact looks similar to silver wheat ears that have been found in Roman sanctuaries in Europe.
An offering altar with a base that resembles a false door.
(Image credit: Courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
An altar with false doors?
False doors are commonly found in ancient Egyptian tombs and offering altars are often near these doors. In this case, the base of the offering altar resembles a false door.
Krzysztof JakubiakAn archeology professor at the University of Warsaw, who has excavated at Marina el-Alamein in the past but was not involved in the recent excavations, said the discovery requires additional analysis.
“I would be cautious in making direct comparisons between the iconographic motifs visible on the discovered altar and the false door iconography,” Jakubiak told Live Science in an email. He said that it was possible that the altar was not completed and its current form simply resembled a false door.
Hala MustafaAn archeology professor at Ain Shams University said in an email that he thought the altar might depict a hieroglyphic sign for “offering” rather than a false door.
An incomplete statue of the goddess Aphrodite, who was associated with love and beauty.
(Image credit: Courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
Goddess idol and other objects
One of the tombs contained an 8.2-foot-long (2.5 m) granite sarcophagus whose lid was still on at the time of the tomb’s discovery. The team is currently investigating the skeletal remains found inside.
Other discoveries include an incomplete statue of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess associated with love and beauty. during ancient EgyptDuring the Ptolemaic dynasty, Greek culture and religion became increasingly popular in Egypt. Mastrosink said it would be interesting to see if the statue had a structure for Aphrodite.
“It is important to know where this figurine was found,” Mastrosink told Live Science in an email. “Did Aphrodite have a small cultic niche within this funerary complex?”
Dorota DzierzbickaThe director of the Polish-Egyptian Archaeological Mission of Marina el-Alamein said that the new discoveries, as well as discoveries made at the site in the past, show that the city was “a culturally diverse community in which Egyptian and Graeco-Roman traditions co-existed and mixed in everyday life and funerary practices.” He said the new discoveries were made by Egyptian archaeologists who work at the site.
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