2,000-year-old tombs and remains of Byzantine city discovered in Egypt

Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a series of tombs almost 2,000 years old on the Mediterranean coast as well as the remains of a Byzantine-era city in the Western Desert, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced. In Marina El-Alamein, about 100 kilometers west of Alexandria, recent excavations have uncovered 18 Greco-Roman tombs, indicates the press release published by the ministry on Saturday July 4.

Several burial chambers were discovered with their closing stone slabs still in place, while a granite sarcophagus measuring approximately 2.5 meters was found with its lid intact, suggesting that the burials remained sealed for almost two millennia. Inside the tombs, archaeologists found human remains and pottery, amphorae and other funerary objects. Among the most remarkable discoveries are 24 gold objects placed in the mouths of several individuals, a funerary practice associated with beliefs about the afterlife.

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The site is believed to be that of the ancient city of Leukaspis, a Mediterranean port that flourished between the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods. This latest discovery brings to 44 the total number of known tombs at Marina El-Alamein since the site was identified in 1986 during construction work, the ministry said. Furthermore, in the Dakhla oasis, in the Egyptian Western Desert, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a village from the Byzantine era at Aïn al-Sabil, dating from around the 4th^e century AD, the ministry said on Friday July 3.

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This city, built of mud bricks, presents an organized network of streets, public squares, residential buildings, a basilica-type church and defensive works, testifying to the existence of an organized urban community in the heart of the desert. The site also yielded around 200 ostraca written in Coptic and Greek, as well as bronze and gold coins, some dating from the reign of Roman Emperor Constantius II (AD 337-361).

Egypt is seeking to increase its tourism revenue, and prominent archaeological discoveries are frequently highlighted to enhance the country’s cultural heritage and attract international visitors. Tourism is a key source of foreign exchange, alongside revenues from the Suez Canal and remittances from Egyptians working abroad.