Ancient tombs from 6000 BCE found in Egypt’s Nile Delta
CAIRO: Egyptian archaeologists unearthed 110 burial tombs at an ancient site in a Nile Delta province, the tourism and antiquities ministry revealed on Tuesday.
The graves, some of which have human remains inside, were found at the Koum el-khulgan archaeological site in Dakahlia province, around 150km northeast of Cairo, the ministry said.
They include 68 oval-shaped tombs dating back to the Predynastic Period that spanned from 6000-3150 BCE, the ministry said. There are also 37 rectangular tombs from an ancient era known as the Second Intermediate Period (1782-1570 BCE), when the Semitic people of Hyksos ruled ancient Egypt, the ministry added. The remaining five ovalshaped tombs date back to the Naqada III period that spanned from around 3200 BCE to 3000 BCE.
Archaeologists also found human remains of adults and children and funerary equipment and pottery objects in these tombs, the ministry said.
The development is the latest in a series of archaeological discoveries in recent years for which Egypt has sought publicity in the hopes of reviving its tourism sector.
Tourism has been hurt by the turmoil following a 2011 uprising and now the coronavirus pandemic. Egypt has reported more than 224,500 cases, including at least 13,168 deaths. However, the actual number of cases is thought to be far higher, in part due to limited testing.