February 01, 2021
A joint Egyptian-Dominican mission working at the Taposiris Magna Temple in western Alexandria has uncovered 16 new rock-cut burial shafts dating to the Greco-Roman Period.
A number of mummies in a poor state of preservation were found buried inside these shafts with pieces of gilded cartonnage and amulets of gold foil that were placed inside the mouth in imitation of their tongues. This was part of a special ritual that ensured the deceased person would be able to speak in the afterlife while being judged by the Osirian court.
Dr. Kathleen Martinez, the head of the mission, highlighted two mummies that had remains of scrolls and parts of the cartonnage. One mummy had gilded decorations depicting the god Osiris, god of the underworld, while the other mummy wore a crown decorated with horns and a cobra snake.
The mission also uncovered a wide range of archaeological material including a funerary mask belonging to a woman, eight golden flakes, and eight marble masks of high craftsmanship quality. The mission has been working on the site for over 10 years and has uncovered a lot of material from the reign of the famous Queen Cleopatra.
