21 September 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

An inscription containing 15 headless falcons and unknown ancient rituals found in an ancient Egyptian temple

Archaeologists have discovered a shrine containing previously unknown ancient rituals during excavations at Berenike, a Greco-Roman port in Egypt’s eastern desert.

The discovery was made by archaeologists from the Sikait Project led by Professor Joan Oller Guzman at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

The study, which was recently published in the American Journal of Archaeology, describes the Sikait Project’s excavation of a religious complex from the Late Roman Period.

The religious complex, dubbed the “Falcon Shrine” by the researchers, dates from the Late Roman Period, which lasted from the fourth to sixth centuries AD. During this time, the city was partially occupied and controlled by the Blemmyes, as indicated by the discovery of inscriptions on a stele in a small traditional Egyptian temple, which was adapted by the Blemmyes to their own belief system after the 4th century AD.

The Blemmyes were nomadic Eastern Desert people who appeared in written sources between the 7th and 8th centuries BC. The Greek term first appears in a poem by Theocritus and in Eratosthenes in the third century BC. The Blemmyes, according to Eratosthenes, lived with the Megabaroi in the land between the Nile and the Red Sea north of Mero. They had occupied Lower Nubia and established a kingdom by the late 4th century. From inscriptions in the temple of Isis at Philae, a considerable amount is known about the structure of the Blemmyan state.

A mummy of a Falcon was discovered in Egypt. Photo: CREATIVE COMMONS

The most remarkable find in the shrine was around 15 falcons, most of them without their heads. Burial of falcons had already been found in the Nile Valley but this was the first time archaeologists discovered falcons buried within a temple and accompanied by eggs.

This discovery the team considers suggests a new previously unknown ancient ritual when compared to falcon burials in the Nile Valley.

Mummified headless falcons found in other areas were always just individuals, not a group, as in the shrine discovered at Berenike.

The shrine contained the following inscription: “It is improper to boil a head in here” which has been interpreted as a message barring people who enter the shrine from boiling the heads of the animals inside the temple.

“From its archaeological context, the stele almost certainly records an injunction associated with the falcon cult. The text forbade boiling the head of a bird within the area in which the stele was set up,” the researchers wrote in the study.

“All of these elements point to intense ritual activities combining Egyptian traditions with contributions from the Blemmyes, sustained by a theological base possibly related to the worshipping of the god Khonsu (the ancient Egyptian god of the Moon)”, said UAB researcher Professor Joan Oller Guzman.

Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)

https://doi.org/10.1086/720806

Cover Photo: K. Braulińska; drawing by O.E. Kaper

Banner
Related Post

Grave Goods Show Gendered Roles for Neolithic Age

16 April 2021

16 April 2021

Grave goods, such as stone tools, have revealed that Neolithic farmers had different work-related activities for men and women. Researchers...

Evidence of textile manufacture dating back millennia was found in an area famous for the Witney Blanket

12 June 2023

12 June 2023

Archaeological excavations at the site of Oxfordshire County Council’s project to build the A40 Science Transit Park and Ride at...

Luxurious Feather Beds of Iron Age Warriors

27 March 2021

27 March 2021

According to a new study, two warriors from the 7th century in Sweden were buried in graves where they were...

A rural necropolis from Late Antiquity discovered in northeastern France

5 November 2022

5 November 2022

Inrap archaeologists have unearthed a small rural necropolis from the late 5th century (Late Antiquity) at Sainte-Marie-aux-Chênes in northeastern France....

Impressive proof of technology transfer in Antiquity times “2700 year- old a Leather Armor”

20 July 2022

20 July 2022

Design and construction details of the unique leather-scaled armor found in a horse rider’s tomb in northwest China indicate that...

Largest-Known Flower Preserved in Amber Is Nearly 40 Million Years Old

20 January 2023

20 January 2023

The largest-known fossilized flower encased in amber, dating back nearly 40 million years, was again discovered in the Baltic region...

Gaza bulldozers unearth Roman-era a burial site

1 February 2022

1 February 2022

Bulldozers digging for an Egyptian-funded housing project in the Gaza Strip have unearthed the ruins of a tomb dating back...

Fossils of sea creatures 35 million years old discovered in eastern Turkey

17 August 2021

17 August 2021

In Turkey’s eastern province of Mus, a team of researchers discovered fossils of sea creatures estimated to be 35 million...

2,300-year-old Buddhist temple discovered in Pakistan

23 December 2021

23 December 2021

Remains of a 2300 years old Buddhist Temple have been discovered in Northwest Pakistan by a joint team of Pakistani...

The enigma behind King Tut’s’space dagger,’ according to archaeologists, has finally been solved

24 February 2022

24 February 2022

Archaeologists have finally solved the enigma of King Tutankhamun’s dagger, which was discovered 3,400 years ago. A new examination of...

White grape pips found in the Negev dated may be the oldest of its kind worldwide

29 April 2023

29 April 2023

Researchers from the University of York, Tel Aviv University, and the University of Copenhagen provide new insight into the mystery...

Dutch Shrimp Fishermen caught a centuries-old carved wooden statue off the coast of Texel

17 August 2022

17 August 2022

A carved wooden statue in exceptional condition has been attached to fishing nets off the coast of Texel, one of...

Roman-era chambers and clay offering vessels found in Antiocheia Ancient City, in southern Turkey

24 October 2022

24 October 2022

During excavations in southern Turkey’s ancient city of Antiocheia, archaeologists discovered late Roman-era chambers and clay offering vessels. Antakya, better...

1,800-year-old Roman remains discovered in valley of eastern Turkey

21 February 2022

21 February 2022

Roman remains dating back 1800 years have been found in a valley in eastern Turkey. Among the Roman ruins found...

Shocking Images Appeared As The Waters Recede

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

As the dams recede, the remains of the flooded settlements come to light. This time Kayseri witnessed these images that...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *