An Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission announced this Friday the discovery of
22 tombs dating from Persian, Byzantine and Coptic times
in the Minia governorate in Upper Egypt, according to the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The new discovery took place at the El Bahnasa site, where the Spanish Archaeological Mission headed by the University of Barcelona works, and where archaeologists found three limestone tombs from Roman times, another three from Persian times and sixteen Byzantine and Coptic
According to a statement from the aforementioned department, reproduced by various Egyptian media, several of the bodies found inside the tombs were
protected with decorated shrouds
, while in some tombs the archaeologists found or
swags that consisted of two frogs deposited inside two jars.
The tombs belong to the Persian, Byzantine and Coptic periods.
Illustrative photo: EFE/EPA/STR
In other parts of the necropolis, restoration work has been carried out on the structure of a basilica found within the necropolis itself, as well as on the wall paintings in the crypt, he added.
The secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, Mustafa Waziri, explained that the work in El Bahnasa during the last archaeological season, which ended in January, focused on the upper necropolis, one of the most important areas of the site.
He also affirmed that the excavations in the El Bahnasa necropolis, divided into four sectors, "have yielded important results related to the history of this site, which will be studied", and predicted that "it would reveal many of the secrets of this important site of
the ancient Egypt
."
The mission of Oxyrhynchus, in Egypt.
(File photo: University of Murcia)
For her part, Maite Mascort, who leads the mission together with Esther Pons, indicated that the restoration team has carried out consolidation and restoration work both in situ and in the laboratory.
The current El Bahnasa, ancient Greco-Roman city of Oxyrhynchus, is considered
one of the most important archaeological sites in Egyptology
due to its richness in the artifacts found as well as the numerous papyri and other unearthed objects, which are still being studied.
Source: EFE
look also
They found a mummy covered in gold that seems to be the oldest in Egypt
The impressive discovery of a mummy called "Messi"