Three previously unknown tombs were unearthed by an Egyptian archaeological mission during excavations at the Sheikh Soby site in the Bahariya Oasis, alongside a collection of ancient artifacts.
The tombs, whose discovery was announced earlier this month by the Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry, date to different periods of Egyptian history, including the Roman and Late periods.
The first tomb, dating back to the Late Period of Egypt (664 BCE until 332 BCE), is a rock-cut tomb carved into sandstone, believed to have been dedicated to a single family unit consisting of five individuals.
It is made up of a square-shaped shaft, approximately three meters deep, that leads to two burial chambers on its western and northern sides.
Inside the western, which itself is small and rectangular, archaeologists discovered a limestone sarcophagus resting in a recess on the chamber floor, containing a mummy covered in linen wrappings.
The placement of the sarcophagi in the chamber is consistent with the method of placing sarcophagi in Late Period tombs at the site, explained Mohamed Abdel Badi, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
In the larger northern chamber, archaeologists found four limestone sarcophagi, each containing a mummy covered with linen wrappings.
Two tombs date back to Roman period
The second tomb found at the site by the mission is an undecorated, staircase-style tomb and believed to date back the Roman period.
Badi noted that it consists of a small tunnel leading to a staircase made up of three steps, which end in a burial chamber. However, current archaeological evidence suggests that it had not actually been used for burial.
The third tomb, also thought to date to the Roman period, is a shaft-style tomb, made up of a tunnel leading to small, roofless hall that then breaks off into two chambers on its southern and eastern sides.
The hall is thought to have been used as a receiving room for the mummy before it was taken to its final resting place inside one of the tomb’s chambers, according to common burial practices during the Roman period.
Fragments of a ceramic coffin were found within the tomb’s southern chamber, while a limestone sarcophagus with parts of its lid missing was found in the eastern chamber.
Archaeologists also discovered four entrances set into the tomb’s entry tunnel, located on its astern, northern, and western sides.
Excavations at the eastern entrance revealed a side burial, where the deceased is interred in a lateral position, and an oval-shaped ceramic coffin that had been broken into several pieces.
The coffin’s lid was decorated with a raised depiction of a human face with clearly defined features.
Several other artifacts were found at the site, explained Professor Qutb Fawzi, head of the Central Administration of Cairo and Giza Antiquities, including a collection of pottery vessels, small bottles, and plates of various shapes and sizes, in addition to a number of offering tables made of limestone and sandstone.
A number of small terracotta statues used in religious practices as offerings (votives) and depicting motherly figures and stylized animal forms were also discovered at the site.
The discoveries provide new evidence on the history of the Bahariya Oasis, said Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy, who praised the ongoing efforts of both Egyptian and foreign archaeological missions operating in the region.
Uncovering more of Bahariya Oasis' history
Dr. Sabri Farag, who heads the archaeological mission at the site and serves as Bahariya Oasis’ director general of antiquities, confirmed that excavations at the site will continue in future seasons.
The hope, Farag explained, is to uncover more tombs that could reveal ongoing settlement of the site in antiquity and shed further light on the oasis’ inhabitants.
Notably, the Sheikh Soby site is home to a Late Period cemetery containing the tombs of Bahariya Oasis rulers and priests from that period, including the Temple of El-Bawiti.
The temple was built by the ruler of the Bahariya Oasis during the 26th Dynasty in honor of Pharoah Ahmose II (also known as Amasis II) who reigned between 570 - 526 BCE.
In 570 BCE, Ahmose II conquered Cyprus, the first pharoah do so since Thutmose III’s Bronze Age campaign. His reign there, however, was brief, as Cyrus the Great took the Mediterranean island from him in 545 BCE.