An ongoing excavation in Damietta, Egypt, has revealed 63 tombs from over 2,500 years ago, alongside a trove of gold artifacts, coins, and pottery. According to Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, these findings could provide insights into the secrets of the ancient Egyptian civilization, including burial practices, as well as the coastal city’s role in trade. Known as Tal al-Deir, the excavation site was a necropolis during the 26th Dynasty and remained in use through the Roman and Byzantine periods. The tombs’ contents support this, as they include funerary amulets and ushabti statues dating back to the 26th Dynasty (664-525 BC) as well as 38 bronze coins from the Ptolemaic era (323-30 BC). According to Egyptologist Salima Ikram, the type of objects uncovered in the dig implies Tal al-Deir was a wealthy necropolis and the attached city had a great deal of social stratification.
SOURCE: CNN
