26 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Egyptian archaeologists found 110 ancient tombs in the Nile Delta

The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced Tuesday that Egyptian archaeologists had discovered 110 burial tombs on the Nile Delta dating from before Egypt’s famous dynasties and Pharaonic kingdoms emerged more than 5,000 years ago.

They also discovered tombs from the later Hyksos period, between 1,650 B.C. and 1,500 B.C., when Western Asian migrants took over the country, effectively ending Egypt’s the Middle Kingdom.

Egyptologists believe the discoveries in the Dakahlia province north of Cairo could shed light on two significant transitional periods in ancient Egypt.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the tombs include 68 oval-shaped tombs from the Buto era (6,000 B.C. to 3,300 B.C.) and five oval-shaped tombs from the Naqada III period (just before the emergence of Egypt’s first dynasty about 3,100 B.C.).

_el-Khulgan archeological site,
Ancient tombs unearthed recently, some with human remains, in the Koum el-Khulgan archeological site, in the Nile Delta province of Dakahlia, northeast of Cairo, Egypt,(Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry via AP)

They also include 37 rectangular-shaped tombs from the Second Intermediate Period, around 1,800 B.C., when the Semitic people of Hyksos first began migrating across the Sinai into Egypt.

“This is an extremely interesting cemetery because it combines some of the earliest periods of Egyptian history with another important era, the time of the Hyksos,” said Salima Ikram, an Egyptologist at the American University in Cairo.

An ancient tomb
An ancient tomb unearthed recently with human remains and pottery, in the Koum el-Khulgan archeological site, in the Nile Delta province of Dakahlia, northeast of Cairo, Egypt,(Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry via AP)

“Egyptologists are working to understand how the Egyptians and the Hyksos lived together and to what degree the former took on Egyptian traditions,” Ikram told Reuters.

The Buto tombs were oval-shaped pits with the corpses placed inside in a squatting position, mostly on their left sides with the head pointing west, the ministry statement said.

Some of the tombs from the Naqada period contained cylindrical and pear-shaped vessels. The Hyksos tombs were mainly semi-rectangular with the corpses lying in an extended position and the head also facing west.

“The mission also found a group of ovens, stoves, remnants of mud-brick foundations, pottery vessels, and amulets, especially scarabs, some of which were made of semi-precious stones and jewelry such as earrings,” the statement said.

Related Articles

Floor Mosaic of the Early Byzantine Period Unearthed in St Constantine and Helena Monastery Church in Ordu

12 August 2024

12 August 2024

Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism reported that an in-situ floor mosaic was found at the St Constantine...

Turkey’s second ancient lighthouse found in the Bathonea

28 July 2023

28 July 2023

The excavations in the ancient Greek city of Bathonea, located in the Küçükçekmece Lake basin in the Avcılar district of...

Roman Canal and Road Uncovered in The Netherlands near UNESCO heritage sites

30 July 2021

30 July 2021

Dutch archaeologists that a canal and gravel road thought to have been built and used by the Roman military have...

Ancient Mastaba Tomb of Royal Physician “Magician of the Goddess Selket” discovered in Sakkara

7 January 2025

7 January 2025

In the southern region of the Saqqara archaeological site, a joint French-Swiss archaeological team made an important discovery uncovering the...

A still life fresco discovered in new excavations of Pompeii Regio IX

28 June 2023

28 June 2023

Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a gorgeous still-life fresco depicting a platter covered in food and...

Karahantepe will shed light on the mysteries of the Prehistoric period

7 October 2021

7 October 2021

Karahantepe’s ancient site, which is home to Neolithic-era T-shaped obelisks similar to the ones in the world-famous Göbeklitepe, will reveal...

Pot Overflowing with Persian Gold Coins from 400 BC Discovered in Türkiye

4 August 2024

4 August 2024

Archaeologists from the University of Michigan have uncovered a pot of ancient Persian gold coins in the ancient city of...

Archaeologists find new clues about North Carolina’s ‘Lost Colony’ from the 16th century

11 May 2024

11 May 2024

Archaeologists from The First Colony Foundation have yielded a tantalizing clue about the fate of the Lost Colony, the settlers...

Iron Age Ingenuity: Unique Dacian Stonemasons’ Tools Discovered in Romania

10 May 2025

10 May 2025

An extraordinary discovery in a Romanian forest near the hill of Măgura Călanului has unveiled a unique set of 15...

Roman influence period artifacts discovered by history enthusiasts in northern Poland

16 March 2024

16 March 2024

Local history enthusiasts from the Wendrusz Historical and Exploration Society have discovered four fibulae, a ring, and fragments of decorations...

Army Museum Worker Discovers Early Medieval Sword While Swimming in a Polish River

19 December 2024

19 December 2024

The collection of the Army Museum in Białystok, Poland has been enriched after renovation with a unique relic of great...

Centuries-old boardwalk discovered

22 December 2023

22 December 2023

During construction work in November 2023, road construction workers in Fürth came across an archaeological sensation: a centuries-old boardwalk under...

1,400-year-old royal hall found in Suffolk, UK

5 October 2022

5 October 2022

Archaeologists, evidence of a 1,400-year-old royal Hall of the first Kings of East Anglia has been discovered in Rendlesham, Suffolk,...

Poseidon Temple in Greece Larger than Previously Assumed

27 January 2024

27 January 2024

New excavations at Kleidi-Samikon in Greece’s Western Peloponnese show that the temple, discovered in 2022, is more monumental than previously...

‘Astonishingly Preserved’ Ancient Roman Well Found in Cambridgeshire was An Engineering Failure

22 August 2024

22 August 2024

In an excavation at the site of future highway improvements in Cambridgeshire, the team from MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology)...