CAIRO: Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said a joint Egyptian-French archaeological mission has uncovered parts of an 18th-century mudbrick residential settlement and a Byzantine-era Coptic necropolis at the Sheikh Al-Arab Hammam site in Al-Arki village in Qena Governorate, Upper Egypt. The ministry announced the finds on Feb. 23, describing the discovery as a rare window into settlement life and burial practices in an area where written documentation is limited.
The excavations revealed six houses along with associated service buildings and part of an industrial zone, the ministry said. It added that some structures were topped with mudbrick domes while others used palm trunks in roofing, and that traces of white lime plaster appeared in several rooms. The mission said these architectural elements point to varied construction techniques within the settlement’s residential quarters.
Artefacts recovered from the 18th-century layers include bronze coins, pottery fragments, children’s toys, jewellery and textile remains, according to the ministry. Officials said the objects help document daily life at the site during the period associated with Sheikh Al-Arab Hammam, a prominent regional figure in Upper Egypt in the 1700s. The ministry said the discovery contributes to a better understanding of population distribution and activity in the region across successive historical periods.
Discovery And Site Context
Beneath the settlement, archaeologists uncovered part of a Coptic necropolis dating to the Byzantine period, the ministry said. The burial area was identified with the help of geophysical surveys after a limestone coffin lid was found reused as paving near one of the settlement’s entrances, according to Ahmed El Shoky, the mission head. The ministry said the subsurface work helped guide excavation toward the cemetery remains below the later residential layers.
The necropolis includes two burial types, the ministry said: simple interments directly in the ground and graves framed by mudbrick structures. Among the items reported were linen wrappings and tunics woven in a Coptic style and decorated with geometric, floral and animal motifs, as well as crosses and inscriptions. The mission also found a copper stamp believed to have been used to decorate baked goods, the ministry said.
Officials And Next Studies
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said the project aims to better understand and preserve the site and to prepare it for potential inclusion on Egypt’s tourism map. He noted the site’s location between the archaeological areas of Dendera and Abydos in Upper Egypt. Hisham El Leithy, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the finds are significant given the scarcity of historical sources about the area, while Diaa Zahran, who heads the ministry’s Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities Sector, provided details on the newly uncovered houses and industrial area.
Pierre Tallet, director of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, said bio-archaeological studies are planned on the remains of about 23 individuals to determine diet, health, age and sex, according to the ministry. The ministry said the cemetery assemblage includes males and females as well as younger and older individuals, and it cited indications of mummification practices on some remains. The mission said continued analysis will focus on documenting funerary customs and the material culture recovered from both the settlement and the cemetery. – By Content Syndication Services.