CAIRO: An Egyptian archaeological mission has discovered three tombs dating to different periods at the Sheikh Sobi site in the Bahariya Oasis, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced.
The discovery, made during the current excavation season, includes mummies, coffins and votive figurines.
The Sheikh Sobi site is one of the most important archaeological locations in the Bahariya Oasis, containing the tombs of rulers and priests from the Late Period of ancient Egypt.
Sabri Farag, director general of antiquities at the Bahariya Oasis and head of the mission, told Arab News the three tombs comprised a collective sandstone tomb with five Late Period mummies; a Roman-period tomb in a stairwell-style design; and a third, also dating from the Roman era.
Farag added that the 40-member mission, comprising archaeologists and other workers, had been excavating at the site for three months before the tombs were discovered.
He added that the team would continue its work in the coming seasons.
The first tomb contains a square shaft about 3 meters deep, leading to two burial chambers. The western chamber, a small rectangular room, hosts a limestone sarcophagus with a mummy wrapped in linen bandages.
Farag said the sarcophagus had been placed on the chamber’s floor, a feature consistent with Late Period tombs at the site dating to the 26th Dynasty.
The second tomb, on the northern side of the shaft, was “larger and also rectangular in shape,” and appeared to “have been used for the burial of remaining family members.”
Farag said: “The third tomb consists of a rectangular well with an entrance leading to a small hall.”
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy said that the discoveries helped to shed light on aspects of Egyptian civilization and its secrets.
Egyptologist Dr. Hassan Selim told Arab News that artifacts from the site had a distinct artistic character, and noted that local artists did not always adhere to traditional ancient Egyptian styles.
“Earlier archaeological missions found drawings in the tombs of wealthy people depicted as priests,” he said, noting that Egyptologist Ahmed Fakhry was the first to excavate in the area in the last century.
Selim said inscriptions revealed details about daily life and the deities worshipped in the region, in which inhabitants in later times were associated with the moon due to the area’s astronomical relationship and the reliance on lunar calendars.
An Egyptian mission in June announced the discovery of new finds in the remains of an ancient temple at the Bahariya Oasis, again dating to the 26th Dynasty.
