A significant archaeological discovery in Egypt’s Ismailia Governorate has unveiled a tomb belonging to a high-ranking military leader from the reign of Ramses III, alongside a collection of communal and individual burials spanning the Greek, Roman, and Late Periods. The Supreme Council of Antiquities announced the findings, shedding new light on the region’s strategic importance and burial practices across millennia.
The Egyptian archaeological mission, working at Tel Rodh Iskandar in the Maskhuta area, unearthed the tomb, providing crucial insights into the military fortifications that protected Egypt’s eastern borders during the New Kingdom. Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, emphasized the discovery’s significance, noting that artifacts found within the tomb, including bronze arrowheads and a mace fragment, highlight the high military status of its occupant.
Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, detailed the tomb’s construction, built from mud bricks and featuring a main burial chamber with three additional rooms. The interior walls were coated with white plaster. During excavation, archaeologists discovered a human skeletal remain covered in cartonnage, dating to a later period, suggesting the tomb was reused. Notably, a collection of well-preserved alabaster vessels adorned with inscriptions and traces of color were found, including cartouches of Pharaoh Horemheb, a renowned military leader and ruler of the 18th Dynasty. A gold ring bearing the cartouche of Ramses III, various beads, stones, and a small ivory box were also among the artifacts.
Further exploration revealed communal burials from the Greek and Roman periods, containing skeletal remains, and individual burials from the Late Period, which included amulets of the goddess Taweret, the god Bes, and the Eye of Horus (Wedjat). Qutb Fawzi Qutb, head of the Central Administration of Lower Egypt and Sinai Antiquities, highlighted the diverse range of artifacts and burial practices uncovered
