Quesna Necropolis - Photo via Min. of Tourism & Antiquities
CAIRO – 27 November 2022: The Egyptian archaeological mission operating in the ancient Quesna Necropolis, Menoufia Governorate succeeded in uncovering an extension of the ancient Quesna Necropolis, which includes archaeological tombs dating back to different eras containing a number of mummies.
This was stated by Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri, who further pointed out that the mission also found a number of golden chips in the form of human tongues in the mouths of some of the discovered mummies, which were found in a poor state of preservation.
Furthermore, the mission found some burials that contained skeletons and mummies bound with gold on the bone directly under the linen rolls, where gums and tar were used in the embalming process. This is in addition to the remains of wooden coffins in human form and a number of copper nails used in those coffins.
As for the discovered parts of the necropolis, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Ayman Ashmawy explained that it is characterized by a unique architectural style. Constructed of mud bricks, it consists of a burial well on the western side of the cemetery and on either side of it are two rooms. The main vault extends from north to south with three burial chambers oriented from east to west.
Ashmawy added that the excavations inside the cemetery revealed that it was used during three different eras, as the archaeological finds and the burial customs were different at each level of burial. This suggests that the cemetery was used starting from the Late and Ptolemaic eras and reused during two phases of the Roman era.
Head of the Central Administration of Lower Egypt Qutb Fawzi explained that the mission also succeeded in discovering a number of golden chips in the form of scarabs and lotus flowers, and a number of funerary amulets, stone scarabs and pottery vessels that were used in the mummification process.
Moreover, Head of the Archaeological Mission and Director General of the Menoufia Antiquities Region Mustafa Rizk indicated that the results of the archaeological mission's work in the Quesna cemetery during the previous excavation seasons resulted in the discovery of a number of tombs and architectural units, inside which were stone coffins of human form and a huge coffin of black granite for one of the most important priests in the city of Athribis (Benha), the capital of the Tenth Region.
The site of the Quesna Quarries Cemetery is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Delta, as it is located in the Kfour El-Raml area of the Quesna Center in the Menoufia Governorate. The cemetery includes burials from multiple eras that were used for long periods of time as cemeteries for the two regions.
The historical and archaeological value of the Quesna cemetery comes from the diversity of burial methods, the presence of a rare cemetery for the burial of sacred birds, and the architectural units that form a group of mud-brick tombs from the Late Era, as well as the Greek and Roman eras.
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