Archaeologists working at the Quesna necropolis in Egypt’s Monufia Governorate have uncovered a previously unknown funerary complex containing human burials, hundreds of faience figurines, protective amulets, and imported pottery, providing new evidence for burial practices and long-distance trade during the Late Roman and Byzantine periods.
The discovery was made by an Egyptian archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities during ongoing excavations at Quesna, one of the most important cemetery sites in the central Nile Delta.
The newly discovered funerary unit consists of a central hall connected to several burial chambers through recessed entrances. According to the excavation team, the preserved architectural features have enabled researchers to reconstruct much of the complex’s original layout.
Excavations within the chambers revealed a number of human burials in varying states of preservation, alongside a diverse assemblage of grave goods associated with funerary rituals. The finds are expected to provide new insights into religious beliefs and burial customs practised in the Delta during the Late Roman period.
Among the most significant discoveries were around 560 faience shabti figurines, many produced in the traditional Osirian form. Several examples are inscribed with passages from the Book of the Dead, reflecting the continued use of ancient Egyptian funerary traditions long after the end of the Pharaonic period.
Archaeologists also recovered a collection of protective amulets carved from semi-precious stones, including examples depicting the Eye of Horus (Wedjat), the Knot of Isis (Tyet), and the Finger Amulet, together with figures representing several Egyptian deities. Such objects were commonly placed with the dead to provide divine protection in the afterlife.
The excavation yielded a substantial assemblage of pottery, including bowls, storage vessels, faience containers and clay jars. Large quantities of blue and green faience beads were also discovered, which researchers believe may have formed part of a funerary net placed over one of the burials.
Evidence for the site’s wider connections came from the discovery of imported amphora fragments from the Greek island of Rhodes. One handle bears the name of its maker, providing direct archaeological evidence of commercial links between Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Roman and Byzantine periods.
There were also a few unusual funerary practices identified by the team, which are still under investigation. In one of the burials, pots were placed beneath the arm and between the thighs of the deceased. Residues in some of the vessels might be offerings or the materials used in funerary ceremonies and scientific study is now in progress to determine what they were composed of and what they did.
Sherif Fathy, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said the finds reinforce the archaeological significance of Quesna as one of the most important burial sites in the Nile Delta. The discoveries deepen the region’s religious practices, funerary practices and economic ties to the region, he said, and how it may have been connected to the society detailed in the Late Roman era via the ancient Muslim culture.
The necropolis Quesna, discovered in 1991, contains a number of cemeteries from various historical periods. The site is one of the Delta’s most important archaeological locations for studying the development of burial architecture, funerary rituals and changing religious beliefs over the last several millennia.
Sources : Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
