Roman Era Tombs Discovered in Egypt Reveal Diverse Trends in Burial Architecture and Grave Goods

Ancient Origins

Not all Egyptian tombs are alike. Apart from the impact of social status, there is also a difference in architectural styles and burial preferences over the long history of their existence. This can be noted in five Roman era mudbrick tombs which have been unearthed during excavation works at the Beir Al-Shaghala site in Dakhla Oasis.

 The Beir Al-Shaghala site is located near three other archaeological sites - Mut al- Kharab, Tal Markula, and Koam Beshay. The well-preserved tombs were found by an archaeological mission from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, who have been working at the site since 2002 according to Egypt Independent.

Tombs at the Beir Al-Shaghala site, Egypt. (Ministry of Antiquities)

Head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector Ayma Ashmawi described the differing layouts of the tombs to Egyptian Streets:

“The first one has an entrance that leads to a rectangular hall with two burial chambers; the second tomb has a domed ceiling and its entrance leads to a burial chamber, while the third one is a pyramid shaped tomb which the mission has yet succeeded to uncover its upper part. The fourth and fifth tombs are sharing one entrance and each tomb has a burial chamber with a domed ceiling.”

The vaulted ceiling in one of the tombs. (Ministry of Antiquities)

The tombs have provided a wealth of interesting artifacts. So far, Ahram Online reports archaeologists have found pottery vessels of varying shapes and sizes, a gypsum funerary mask painted yellow, a clay incense burner, and the base of a small sandstone sphinx statue.

The funerary mask found in one of the tombs. (Ministry of Antiquities)

Two ostraca (ink-inscribed shards of pottery) were also discovered - one written in hieroglyphic text and the other in hieratic. Bryan Hill explained the rise of hieratic script in a previous article for Ancient Origins. He wrote:

“Egyptian hieroglyphs are among the oldest writing systems in the world, dating back some 5,200 years […] Around 2700 BC, hieratic (meaning ‘priestly’ by the Greeks) script was introduced which was a form of writing more akin to alphabet letters. Hieratic script eventually became widely used as a faster, more functional form of writing and used for monumental inscriptions. It remained the Egyptian script for about two millennia or until Demotic script was introduced in the 7th century BC.”

An ostracon found in a tomb. (Ministry of Antiquities)

Work will continue at Beir Al-Shaghala to see if more ancient treasures can be recovered.

The five tombs add to eight other well-preserved Roman era tombs that were discovered in previous excavations at the archaeological site.

University College London explains some of the general differences in tomb style and burial preferences in the Roman era of Egypt. By the Roman period, shabtis and canopic jars were out of fashion (they were ‘so pre-Ptolemaic Period’). Instead, “Objects of daily use […] became a popular burial good again under Roman rule: in particular, cosmetic objects are commonly found with women.” This Roman era excavation is thus important as few cemeteries of the Roman Period have been properly audited and finds documented.

 Mummy portraits, or at least Roman or Greek style funerary masks, were preferred over Egyptian style mummy masks. But plaster masks in the Greek/Roman style were apparently the favorite option for the elite.

Fayum mummy portraits of two women. (Left: Public Domain and Right: Public Domain)

By this time, coffins had largely become nothing more elaborate than simple boxes, but mummification became more popular. Multiple burials were also more common for people of all levels of society.

Clay pots of different shapes and sizes were found in the tombs. (Ministry of Antiquities)

Top Image: The five Roman tombs found at the Beir Al-Shaghala site in the Dakhla Oasis of Egypt's Western Desert. (Ministry of Antiquities) Insert: A funerary mask found in one of the tombs. (Ministry of Antiquities)

 By Alicia McDermott

Latest Thornton Abbey Discovery: Did the Great Famine take a Medieval Priest and Leave an Elaborate Grave?

Ancient Origins

The remains of a Medieval priest who died 700 years ago has been uncovered at Thornton Abbey in Lincolnshire. Research shows he could have been a victim of the Great Famine.

Archaeologists from the University of Sheffield uncovered the rare find at Thornton Abbey in Lincolnshire, which was founded as a monastery in 1139 and went onto become one of the richest religious houses in England.

The priest's gravestone was discovered close to the altar of a former hospital chapel. Unusually for the period, it displayed an inscription of the deceased's name, Richard de W'Peton -- abbreviated from 'Wispeton', a medieval incarnation of modern Wispington in Lincolnshire -- and his date of death, 17 April 1317.

 The slab also contained an extract from the Bible, specifically Philippians 2:10, which reads; "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth."

The coffin lid for the Medieval priest Richard de W'Peton. (University of Sheffield)

The discovery of Richard's grave was made by University of Sheffield PhD student Emma Hook, who found his skeletal remains surrounded by the decayed fragments of a wooden coffin. "After taking Richard's skeleton back to the laboratory, despite poor preservation, we were able to establish Richard was around 35-45 years-old at the time of his death and that he had stood around 5ft 4ins tall," said Emma.

"Although he ended his days in the priesthood, there is also some suggestion that he might have had humbler origins in more worldly work; his bones show the marks of robust muscle attachments, indicating that strenuous physical labour had been a regular part of his life at some stage. Nor had his childhood been easy; his teeth show distinctive lines known as dental enamel hypoplasia, indicating that his early years had been marked by a period of malnutrition or illness."

The medieval priest’s bones. (University of Sheffield)

In order to further investigate Richard's health, researchers in the Department of Archaeology produced a 3D scan of his skull. The model produced enables detailed features of the skull to be seen with much more ease than with the naked eye.

This revealed a potentially violent episode in the priest's past: a slight depression in the back of his skull shows evidence of an extremely well-healed blunt force trauma suffered many years before Richard's death.

The 3d image of Richard's skull. (University of Sheffield)

 None of the investigations shed light on the cause of his demise at a relatively young age, however there is one possibility that researchers are exploring.

Dr. Hugh Willmott from the University of Sheffield's Department of Archaeology, who has been working on the excavation site at Thornton Abbey since 2011, said: "2017 marks not only the 700th anniversary of Richard's death, but also that of a catastrophic event that is now largely forgotten, but caused years of suffering for the whole of Europe: The Great Famine of 1315-1317.

"Triggered by a whole spring and summer of relentlessly heavy rain that caused widespread crop failures -- which vastly depleted the availability of grain for humans and hay or straw for animals -- this was a period of mass starvation. Although not on the same scale as the Black Death, which devastated Europe from 1346-1353 and which also left its mark at Thornton Abbey, these hungry times struck rich and poor alike, killing millions across the continent."

Ruins of Thornton Abbey, Lincolnshire. (David Wright/CC BY SA 2.0)

He added: "By spring 1317, when Richard died, the crisis was at its peak and its events would undoubtedly have affected medieval hospitals like Thornton Abbey, and the priests who served there.

"These institutions traditionally cared for the poor and hungry as well as the sick, so during the Great Famine sites like Thornton would have found themselves on the front line. Richard would have ministered to the starving, working in the face of desperately limited resources -- and perhaps despite these efforts, he too succumbed to the natural disaster that was unfolding around him. For now, such a narrative can only be a matter of speculation, but it does seem clear that -- whatever caused his death -- at the end of his days Richard was held in high regard, afforded an elaborate burial in the most prestigious part of the hospital chapel, in the very place he would have spent his final years working among the poor and dying."

This is the latest significant archaeological find at Thornton Abbey in Lincolnshire. Last year a mass burial of bodies, known to be victims of the Black Death, was discovered at the hospital. A total of 48 skeletons, many of which were children, were found by the excavation team including PhD and undergraduate archaeology students.

Excavating the site where the Medieval priest Richard de W'Peton was found. (University of Sheffield)

Top image: The recently unearthed medieval priest’s skull and coffin lid. Source: University of Sheffield

Source: Sheffield, University of. "Medieval priest discovered in elaborate grave 700 years after his death." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 April 2017.

4,000-Year-Old Unlooted Tomb Complete with Mummy and Grave Goods Discovered in Egypt

Ancient Origins

A Spanish team of archaeologists has unearthed a 4,000-year-old unopened tomb in West Aswan, Egypt. The tomb belongs to the brother of Sarenput II, one of the most dominant and powerful Pharaonic governors of the 12th Dynasty in ancient Egypt.

 Tomb Belongs to the Brother of Sarenput II
In a great day for Egyptian archaeology, the previously unknown and unopened tomb was discovered in West Aswan, Egypt. The discovery was the outcome of a Spanish archeological mission that was determined to unlock the biggest mysteries of this ancient Egyptian burial area. The newly found burial belongs to the brother of Sarenput II, one of the most significant governors of the 12th Dynasty, according to Luxor Times Magazine. “The discovery is important because not only for the richness of the burial but it sheds light on those individuals who were shadowed by others in power. In fact, there is no much information about them,” said Mahmoud Afifi, head of the ancient Egyptian antiquities department of the antiquities ministry. Additionally, director of Aswan Antiquities, Nasr Salama, stated that the present finding is unique because it has been located with all the funerary goods, which consist of pottery, two cedar coffins and a set of wooden models, which represents funerary boats and scenes of the daily life.

Archaeologists open a tomb that has remained sealed for 4,000 years. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

A Mummy Also Discovered Inside the Burial Chamber
Another important discovery took place thanks to the efforts of Alejandro Jiménez-Serrano, director of the Spanish mission of the University of Jaen. A mummy covered with a cartonnage that was painted in several colors, an impressive mask and collars in a great state of preservation, was discovered but hasn’t been examined yet, and photos have not yet been made available.

 The inscriptions of the coffins bear the name of the defunct, Shemai (Sarenput II’s brother), followed respectively by his mother and father, Satethotep and Khema. Serrano explained that Sarenput II, the eldest brother of Shemai, was one of the most powerful governors of Egypt under the reigns of Senwosret II and Senwosret III. “This discovery, the University of Jaen Mission in Qubbet el-Hawa adds more data to previous discoveries of fourteen members of the ruling family of Elephantine during Dynasty 12. Such high number of individuals provides a unique opportunity to study the life conditions of the high class in Egypt more than 3800 years ago,” the director of the mission said as Egyptian Streets reported.

Egyptologists consider this a very important discovery, which will possibly uncover more secrets of the great and historic culture of Egypt. More expeditions are expected to unravel the mysteries of Aswan and it is just a matter of time when another find will fill the news.

The door to the tomb before it was opened. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities.

Top image: Painted eyes on the newly discovered tomb. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

By Theodoros Karasavvas​

A Pig in a Coffin, A Pregnant Goat, and a Dog That Died in Childbirth: What Were Bizarre Animal Remains Doing in an Anglo-Saxon Church?

Ancient Origins

A group of archaeologists carrying out a routine excavation at a Greek Orthodox church in Shropshire, England, made an extraordinary discovery on the final day of their dig – bizarre animal burials, a pit of human skulls, and the remains of an Anglo-Saxon church. So why were animals ritualistically buried on consecrated ground?

Discovery Takes Place on the Final Day of the Dig
The site was being investigated after Shropshire Council gave consent for housing adjacent to the church. The archaeologists were on a mission to find the remains of a wooden beam, post or other object that would help them to accurately date the site, before it was due to be sealed to make way for a road and car park. Luckily, on the final day of part of the dig, they found the determining piece of evidence that they were looking for: a 15-inch section of an upright wooden post, thought to be a door post. Project manager Janey Green, of Baskerville Archaeological Services, told Shropshire Live, “I had a hunch there was an Anglo-Saxon church here, the site was rumored to be Anglo-Saxon and the vital piece of evidence that we need to be able to prove that it is Anglo-Saxon came at the last hour literally!”

Janey Green and her team of excavators with the wooden door post found at Sutton Farm. Credit: Baskerville Archaeological Services

Animal Burials Pre-date the Christian Period
 Archaeologists also said the finds, which include a calf, a pig and a dog that died while giving birth, were "unprecedented". In total, two dogs, a calf, some birds and a pig were discovered on the site at the Greek Orthodox Church, on Oteley Road, along with the remains of an early medieval woman and a pit full of human skulls. Miss Green speculates the animal burials pre-date the Christian period, “It was a huge surprise to find these burials in a church graveyard. To find animals buried in consecrated ground is incredibly unusual because it would have been a big no no. The bones don’t show any signs of butchery and the animals appear to have been deliberately and carefully laid in the ground. The site is a few hundred meters from known prehistoric human burial mounds so they may be connected,” she told Shropshire Live.

She also suggests that it would be impossible for the remains dating back to the Victorian period, even though she thinks that the use of technology will help them to accurately define the dates of the finds, “Initially I thought I may have come across a whimsical Victorian burial of a beloved pet. But the Victorians usually left objects in the graves such as a collar, a letter or a posie of flowers and we haven’t found a shred of evidence of anything like that here. Neither is there evidence that the animals were fallen farm stock that were disposed of in modern times. The next step is to have the bones carbon dated and we’re hoping funds would be available for that,” she told Shropshire Live.

More than Six Months of Work
For the end, Ms. Green mentioned that the company had been working on the site for more than six months even though they managed to unearth the animal burials just recently. "We didn't in our wildest dreams imagine we would find what we have," she said. The company was called in as a condition of the planning consent given by Shropshire Council for homes to be built opposite. Ms. Green also stated that she did not know why the animals were buried together and speculates a number of theories, including a possible link to a nearby Bronze Age site. The remains will now be tested to determine their age before being re-buried on the site.

Top image: Janey Green of Baskerville Archaeology Services digging up bones in Oteley Road. Credit: Baskerville Archaeological Services

 By Theodoros Karasavvas