Scientists from the Museum of the State of Lower Saxony under the guidance of museum director and professor of archeology Katja Lembke, they found in Central Egypt, near the village of Tuna el-Gebel, an intact burial chamber with wall paintings from the 1st century AD with mummies of four children and four adults.
The frescoes inside the tomb depict a procession with the participation of the king of the underworld, Osiris, and the god of funeral rituals, Anubis. The western side of the burial chamber is decorated with images of a vine, and one of the sections is covered with rugs for visitors. The researchers also found numerous amphorae and kitchen utensils – the furnishings of the chamber dating back to the Roman period are perfectly preserved.
The work of the team of scientists has been ongoing since 2018 and is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). So, in 2021, with the help of ground penetrating radar, two lead coffins were found, which are completely atypical for burials in this area. The task of archaeologists is to study the cemetery of the Roman period, dating from the 1st – 3rd centuries AD. According to research, this is the largest burial in the Nile Valley of this era.
The locality of Tuna el-Gebel is known as the necropolis of the nobility and inhabitants of the ancient Egyptian city of Hermopolis on the west bank of the Nile. For example, during excavations in the 30s. of the last century, a huge Greco-Roman necropolis was discovered here, a real “city of the dead” – with streets leading to numerous tombs.