Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered part of an ancient cemetery from the Greco-Roman period at Tell Kom Aziza in Egypt’s Nile Delta, offering fresh insight into one of the region’s most historically layered sites. The site sits in Beheira Governorate and spans multiple historical periods stretching back thousands of years.
The Egyptian archaeological mission, working under the Supreme Council of Antiquities, found a wide range of burial types during excavations. Some bodies were placed directly in simple earth pits.
Others were buried in mud brick-framed pits, painted plaster coffins, or barrel-shaped pottery coffins. The barrel-shaped pottery coffin was among the most common burial types during the Ptolemaic era.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said that the site holds value far beyond its burial remains. He described it as a window into settlement patterns, daily life, and how people interacted with their environment over millennia.
Burial diversity points to centuries of ritual evolution
Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Hisham El-Leithy said that early analysis of human remains pointed to a notable variety in burial practices. Some graves were individual, while others were collective.
Burial orientations ran along both north-south and east-west axes. Hand positions ranged from resting at the sides to the crossed-arms “Osirian” pose on the chest.
El-Leithy added that studying the archaeological layers confirmed the Greco-Roman cemetery was built over earlier settlement levels. Artifacts trace human activity at Tell Kom Aziza from the Old Kingdom through the New Kingdom, the Late Period, and into the Greek and Roman eras.
Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said that excavations produced a broad range of everyday artifacts. These included pottery and stone vessels, bread molds, multi-purpose stone tools, ovens, and storage jars.
Large quantities of fish, bird, and animal bones were also recovered, offering clues about the diet and daily habits of the site’s ancient residents.
Wild boar burials found at Egypt’s Greco-Roman cemetery
Among the more unusual finds, mission chief and Beheira Antiquities Director Khaled Abdel Ghani Farhat reported the discovery of complete wild boar burials within one of the archaeological layers.
He said that this is rare at ancient Egyptian funerary sites, given the pig’s symbolic association with the god Set. The find may suggest the boar played an economic or livelihood role at the site during a specific period of use.
Farhat said that the findings confirm Tell Kom Aziza is more than a burial ground. It is a detailed archaeological record of human life across successive historical eras. Further excavation seasons are expected to uncover more of what the site still holds.
