A Catalan mission finds a sealed and intact Saite Egyptian tomb

The mission headed by the University of Barcelona (UB) that excavates in the ancient city of oxyrhynchus, one of the largest Egyptian deposits, located in the province of Minia, has found two Saite tombs of the XXVI Dynasty (664-525 BC), the last native to rule Ancient Egypt before the conquest of the Persians.

In one of the graves it has been discovered a female anthropomorphic limestone sarcophagus, the lid of which was somewhat displaced. Inside was a stone amulet of an excellent quality headrest. According Maite Mascort, who leads the mission with Esther Pons, the second grave “was completely closed and sealed and the mission opened it for the first time during the excavations.

Inside her was another anthropomorphic sarcophagus, this male, with a mummy surrounded by various amulets, including scarabs, a figure of the god Horus, double feathers, hearts …, but also a heart scarab and tubular and spherical pieces of faience belonging to the funerary network that covered the body. According to the UB, it kept all the funerary equipment: the four canopic vessels with the mummified viscera inside, some 400 ushabti, statuettes that were to serve the deceased in the afterlife, and a ceramic vase with remains of bandages.

For Mascort and Pons, the importance of the find lies in the fact that the Saíta tomb found sealed is intact and has an architectural structure different from those found so far in Oxyrhynchus.

Golden tongues

In addition, the mission, which ends the campaign on December 10, has found five Byzantine crypts, three Roman-era tombs with mummies, one of them with polychrome cardboard, and three with a gold foil on the tongue.

“This was a ritual of protection of the deceased characteristic of the Roman necropolis of Oxyrhynus”, where 14 of these languages ​​have already been recovered so far, the researchers point out.

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For his part, the director general of Antiquities of Central Egypt, Yamal al Samastawi, recalled that the Spanish mission has been working in the archaeological area of ​​Bahnasa for almost 30 years, in which it has found many tombs dating from the Saite times, Greco-Roman and Coptic.

The old one Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Egyptology for its richness in the artifacts found as well as the thousands of papyri unearthed, that are still being studied.