Hyksos settlement discovered in the Eastern Nile Delta.

Egyptian archaeologists working at a site called Tell El-Koua in the Ismailia Governorate have uncovered an ancient settlement dating to the Second Intermediate Period (between 1782 and 1550 BC), according to a press release issued by the Egyptian ‎Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (وزارة السياحة والآثار) on 29 June 2026. At this time the northern part of Egypt, as far south as Cusae, was ruled by a Semitic People called the Hyksos, recorded as the Fifteenth Dynasty, while the southern part of the country was ruled by two successive Egyptian dynasties, the Sixteenth and Seventeenth. This was the first time that a substantial part of Egypt was ruled by a foreign group, and Egyptian chroniclers had a low opinion of them, yet they introduced a number of innovations to Egyptian culture, including Horses, chariots, a sickle-shaped sword called the khopesh, and the compound bow, all of which contributed to the military success of the Eighteenth Dynasty, who reunited Egypt and formed the New Kingdom, which built an expanded Empire including much of the Middle East and Sudan.

The site uncovered includes a residential area, a group of tombs, and several kilns and grain silos. The site is clearly divided into residential areas, working areas, and burial grounds. The residential area covers an area of about 30 m by 60 m and is surrounded by a mud brick wall about 1.5 m thick, and is internally divided into rooms and corridors of various sizes, with ovens and grain silos located on its eastern side.

The area interpreted as a residential block at the Tell El-Koua site. Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The site included ten mud brick tombs, some of which were in the typical 'mustaba' style, while others had a variety of architectural facades and decorative elements. These tombs varied in size and orientation, and some of the individuals within them were buried in a crouched position, rather than laid out flat in typical Egyptian style. Several individuals had also been buried outside of tombs. All of the Human remains found are estimated to have come from individuals aged between 25 and 40. The mixture of burial styles suggests a people who had adopted some Egyptian customs, but to varying degrees and with an admixture of their own traditions. 

An individual buried in a crouched position in a tomb at Tell El-Koua. Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

A number of artefacts were found at the site, including scarabs, bronze tools, pottery vessels, alabaster kohl containers, and a number of Tell el-Yahudiyeh ware flasks, which are considered typical of the Hyksos Period in Lower Egypt, but have also been found at sites across the Middle East, particularly those associated with the Canaanite People and on the island of Cyprus. A large number of Animal bones were also discovered, which appear to relate to both meat consumption and funerary rights.

A Tell el-Yahudiyeh ware flask from the Tell El-Koua site. Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

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The Temple of the Mud God.

Archaeologists working at a site on the northeastern fringe of the Nile Delta have uncovered what they believe to be a temple to a god of mud, according to a press release issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on their Facebook page. The site, which lies within the ancient city of Pelusium (or Blozium), a name which itself means 'mud', was first identified in 2019, when a portion of a red brick circular structure was uncovered, something which was originally identified as a possible Senate building, dating from the cities Greek or Roman period.

A section of the red brick wall surrounding the temple complex at Pelusium. Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

When fully uncovered the structure proved to be a huge circular basin 35 m in diameter, with a plinth in the middle for a statue. This was connected to a system of cisterns and channels which would have carried salty, silt-laden water from the Pelusic Nile (the 'Muddy' Nile, one of the branches of the Nile Delta) into the basin, which has been interpreted as a religious centre for the God Pelusius, or Blozius, whose name meant 'mud' and who was the patron deity for the city.

The exposed temple site. Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The site is thought to have been in use from the second century BC until the sixth century AD, i.e. through the Greek and Roman periods of the city, and is being compared to other temples in the Hellenic and Roman worlds rather than to other Egyptian temples.

Archaeologists working on the temple site. Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The city of Pelusium was established as a port at the eastern margin of the marshes of the Nile Delta during the Egyptian Old Kingdom, but this port had silted up by the first century BC. Today, the city is several kilometres from the sea, and lies in the northwest Sinai Desert, cut off from the Nile Delta by the Suez Canal. The city was a significant border fortress to the Egyptians, and remained an important administrative centre during Roman times. It was noted for the production of flax and beer.

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Stela depicting Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar as Egyptian Pharaoh discovered at Karnak Temple.

Archaeologists from the Egyptian-French Center for the Study of the Temples of Karnak have uncovered a stela (stone tablet) depicting the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar as the Egyptian Pharaoh while working on a restoration project, according to a press release issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on their Facebook Page. The stela, which is approximately 60 cm high, 40 cm wide, and 10 cm deep, is made out of sandstone and depicts the Emperor dressed as a Pharaoh and making an offering to the Egyptian gods Amun-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu. 

A stela discovered at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, depicting the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar dressed as Pharaoh of Egypt making offerings to the Egyptian gods Amun-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu. Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Amun-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu (known as the 'Thebian Triad') were a trinity of gods worshipped at Thebes, who became important throughout Egypt from the New Kingdom onwards. Amun-Ra was a fusion of the earlier gods, Amun, one of the eight deities the Old Kingdom held responsible for the creation of the universe, and the Sun God Ra. His consort, Mut (which translates as 'mother') was said to have given birth to the world, and everything in it. This originally appears to have been a separate creation myth, but over time she became associated with Amun-Ra, with the pair becoming a divine couple. The god Khonsu was seen as the son of this divine couple, and was also associated with the creation of the universe, as well as having responsibility for moving the Moon across the heavens. 

Paying tribute to this triad of gods was an important part of the duties of the Pharaoh, who was the head of the Egyptian religion as well as ruler of the country. The title of Pharaoh passed to the Roman Emperors when the state was brought into the Roman Empire by the first emperor, Augustus, in 27 BC, which meant such duties at least in theory passed to the Roman ruler. It is, however, unlikely that Tiberius (or any other emperor) travelled to Egypt to perform the role, it is likely that having a representative do this was acceptable to the Egyptians. Egypt had previously been part of the Achaemenid Empire, whose rulers were equally unlikely to travel to Egypt for local religious ceremonies, so it is likely that a procedure for this eventuality was available long before the Roman conquest.

On the Roman side, adopting local religions was a part of the strategy used in integrating new territories into their Empire, often by declaring that local gods were aspects of, or alternative names for, their own gods. This often involved investment in temples, shrines, and other religious infrastructure that local sects had not previously enjoyed, increasing the status of the local religion, and provided people travelling from the provinces with impressive temples to their own gods in Rome. In Egypt, the same approach had already been taken by the Ptolemaic Pharaohs, who had paired Egyptian gods with their Greek equivalents, providing a template for the Romans to follow. Thus Amun was seen as the equivalent of Jupiter, a respectable god for a Roman Emperor to be depicted worshipping.

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Tomb of Twelth Dynasty noblewoman discovered in Asyut, Egypt.

Archaeologists from Sohag University in Egypt and Freie Universität Berlin in Germany have uncovered the tomb of a Twelfth Dynasty noblewoman while carrying out excavations at Asyut. The tomb has been identified as that of Edi, the daughter of Jifai-Hapi, who was governor of Asyut during the reign of the Twelfth Dynasty Pharaoh Senusret I. The tomb was connected to that of Jifai-Hapi, which in turn is the largest known non-royal tomb from the Twelfth Dynasty.

The entrance to the burial chamber of Edi. Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt.

The tomb was located to the north of that of Jifai-Hapi and was about fifteen metres deep, containing an ornate, highly decorated wooden sarcophagus with a similar inner coffin. The tomb had been looted in antiquity, with the lid of the outer sarcophagus displaced. The body of the occupant had been removed from her coffin and ripped apart, but was still present within the tomb. Examination of her remains suggests that she died before the age of forty, and had a congenital deformation of one foot. Also present in the tomb were a box of utensils and another of statues.

The sarcophagus of Edi. Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt.

The Twelfth Dynasty was the second dynasty of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, and was a time of military expansion and relative prosperity. Senusret I was the second Pharaoh of this dynasty, ruling from 1971-1926 BC, during which time he waged two successful wars against Nubia to the south, expanding Egyptian rule to the Second Cataract of the Nile (close to Aswan in modern Egypt), as well as building more peaceful trading relationships with the kingdoms of the near east, such as Canaan and Syria. 

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Greco-Roman tombs uncovered near Aswan, Egypt.

A group of Egyptian and Italian archaeologists have uncovered a series of tombs dating to the Greco-Roman period near Aswan in southern Egypt, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The archaeologists, from the Egyptian-Italian Mission At West Aswan uncovered the tombs on a series of terraces on a rocky hillside close to the Aga Khan Mausoleum, during a series of excavations in the area following reports of illegal excavation in the area. To date 33 of the tombs have been excavated, with an estimated total of about 300, scattered over an area of about 20 000 m².

A team of Egyptian and Italian archaeologists surveyed the area around the Mausoleum of Aga Khan to map out 300 ancient tombs. Egyptian-Italian Mission At West Aswan/Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Significantly, the tombs did not belong to pharaahs or other high ranking individuals, but to ordinary Egyptian families, and were in use between about 900 BC and 300 AD, a period which covers the occupation of Egypt by first the Persian Empire, then the Ptolemaic Greeks, and finally the Romans. Piacentini Patrizia, of the University of Milan, who has been leading the investigations, suggests that during this interval Aswan would have been a prosperous trading centre, connecting Egypt and the Mediterranean world to Nubia and the kingdoms of the African interior.

The interior of one of the newly discovered tombs near Aswan. Egyptian-Italian Mission At West Aswan/Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The tombs reveal much about the lives, and particularly the health, of ordinary Egyptians during the period. Between 30% and 40% of the Human remains uncovered so far belong to children and infants, suggesting a fairly high infant-mortality rate. Many of the bodies have pathologies indicative of diseases, including malnutrition, anaemia, tuberculosis and osteoarthritis. Several adult women had undergone limb amputations.

Remains of mummies from the late Greek and Roman period discovered in tombs near Aswan, Egypt. Egyptian-Italian Mission At West Aswan/Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Some of the dead from the tombs were buried within coffins or sarcophagi, but many more were preserved as mummies wrapped in linen and covered by painted cartonnages (a kind of papier-mâché made of linen or papyrus and plaster). The tombs have also yielded a wide range of other artefacts, including offering tables, painted statuettes, figurines, and terracotta lamps.

A cartonnage mask, which would have once covered a mummy, from the Aswan Necropolis. Egyptian-Italian Mission At West Aswan/Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

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