Archaeologists have recently shed more light on what life was like thousands of years ago at Egypt’s Sohag province thanks to spectacular new findings spanning from 1700BC to the Byzantine era.
The Egyptian-American Archeological Mission of the University of Pennsylvania discovered a royal tomb in Abydos, while the Egyptian Archeological Commission of the Supreme Archaeological Council unearthed a complete Roman-era pottery workshop and 7th-century cemetery in the village of Benawit.
Among the findings is a collection of ostraca –potsherds used as a writing surface- with Greek-language writings on them.
Ancient Egyptian tomb discovery exposes Abydos kings Dynasty
The new royal tomb at Abydos was excavated at a depth of approximately 7 meters below ground level. It consists of a limestone burial chamber covered by mudbrick vaults that originally reached a height of approximately 5 meters.
Remains of inscriptions are found on either side of the entrance leading to the burial chamber of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, along with yellow inscription bands that once bore the king’s name in hieroglyphs, according to Dr. Joseph Wagner, head of the mission.
Althought the name of the owner of the tomb has not been identified yet, Professor Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Council, believes that it belonged to the kings previous to King Senebkay, whose tomb was discovered in Abydos by the mission in 2014.
He added that the newly discovered tomb is much larger than other previously known tombs attributed to the Abydos Dynasty, a series of kings who ruled Upper Egypt between 1700 and 1600 BC.
Egyptian-American archaeological mission from University of Pennsylvania has discovered royal tomb in Mountain of Anubis cemetery in Abydos. Additionally, the Egyptian archaeological mission from Supreme Council of Antiquities has uncovered Roman-era pottery workshop in Banawit pic.twitter.com/dfJcm12AKO
— State Info. Service (@SISEGY) March 14, 2025
The discovery is expected to provide fresh scientific evidence on the development of royal tombs in the Mount Anubis necropolis and the kings of the Abydos Dynasty, offering a deeper understanding of the complex political history of Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period, according to Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Archaeology.
Further research and study will be looking to determine the exact date of the tomb’s construction.
Site of the oldest decorated royal tomb in ancient Egypt
The Mount Anubis necropolis is considered one of the most important ones in the Abydos area.
It is a royal necropolis, and the mountain itself takes the shape of a pyramid.
King Senusret III (1874-1855 BC) chose the site to build his massive tomb beneath the natural pyramidal summit, a first in Egyptian civilization.
It was also chosen by a number of kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty, and later by the kings of the Abydos Dynasty, who built their tombs deep in the desert near the mountain.
The most famous of these is the tomb of King Senebkay, which is considered the oldest decorated royal tomb in ancient Egypt.
Roman-era pottery workshop discovered in Egypt
Also at Egypt’s Sohag province, where Abydos is located, a large pottery workshop of the Roman era and a 7th-century cemetery were discovered near the village of Banawit.
The site is believed to have been part of an industrial unit that supplied the region with pottery and glass. It includes a large group of kilns and extensive warehouses for storing vessels.
Among the discoveries is a group of 32 ostraca -pottery fragments with writings on them- featuring Demotic and Greek-language scripts.
The data was detailing commercial transactions at the time and the method of paying taxes.
Professor Mohamed Abdel Badie said that preliminary studies and evidence indicate that this site was used during the Byzantine era and was reused as a cemetery in the seventh century AD, possibly extending into the fourteenth century AD.
A number of burials were found at the site, including mudbrick tombs containing skeletons and mummies, likely representing family graves for men and women, the majority of whom were children.
Perhaps the most haunting burial discovery of the mission was the mummy of a child wearing a colorful fabric cap.