Portraits of mummy and ancient idol found in Egypt (4 photos)

Archaeologists have discovered ancient burials in Egypt, where mummies were buried along with strikingly realistic portraits of the dead. The find was made in a cemetery in the ancient city of Philadelphia, he Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said.







During excavations in Egyptian Philadelphia, archaeologists discovered ancient mummies buried with realistic portraits of the dead, reported Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt. City of Philadelphia, located about 120 km southwest of Cairo in the Faiyum region, was founded during the Ptolemaic period (304-30 BC), when Egypt rules of a dynasty of pharaohs descended from one of the generals Alexander the Great. Subsequently, Philadelphia continued to prosper even after the fall of the Ptolemaic dynasty and the capture of Egypt by the Romans.

During excavations in an ancient necropolis, archaeologists discovered two complete portraits of the buried, as well as several incomplete portraits, said Basem Gehad, director of the mission to excavate the ancient necropolis in Philadelphia.



"The people who were buried in Philadelphia clearly belonged to the upper middle class, and perhaps to the upper society - otherwise their families would not be able to make such realistic portraits of their deceased relatives,” said Gehad. According to him According to the words, the portraits were most likely painted by artists from Alexandria, an Egyptian city on the Mediterranean coast.

Archaeologists rarely find portraits of mummies. Until new discoveries the latest mummy portraits discovered during archaeological excavations, were discovered in the 1880s. In the 19th century, many burials were ravaged by tomb robbers, and even if there were portraits, scientists have not received them. Necropolis in Philadelphia provided to archaeologists valuable material for analysis.



“The cemetery in Philadelphia was ransacked in the 1880s. Robbers seized portraits from the graves, most of which were sold to the Viennese dealer and collector Theodor Graf,” said Susan Walker, Honorary curator of the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford. - He made a catalog and organized their exhibitions around the world, resulting in portraits now scattered in museums and private collections, mainly in America and Europe".

Walker, who was not involved in the excavations, is nonetheless confident that new discoveries may shed more light on Philadelphia burials, as new finds are being investigated by modern scientific methods. “As a result of this work, we will certainly know better the history of these burials,” Walker said.

In addition to portraits of mummies, archaeologists have found remains in Philadelphia tombs where the mummies were buried, and a statue depicting Isis-Aphrodite, the Egyptian-Greek goddess of love. They also discovered remains of papyri containing demotic Egyptian cursive and Greek letters. Papyri contain information about social, economic and religious conditions of life of people living in this district,.

Excavations at the cemetery and analysis of the finds will continue.