Archaeologists working in Egypt’s New Valley have uncovered a limestone pyramid-shaped tomb containing an unusual combination of ancient Egyptian religious imagery and a 19-line Greek funerary poem.
A Roman-era pyramid tomb with a distinctive stone entrance, funerary inscriptions and artefacts has been discovered at Bir al-Shughala in Egypt’s New Valley, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced.
The tomb, believed to have been constructed for a man and his wife, was uncovered by an Egyptian archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Among the finds are a stone funerary plaque bearing a lengthy inscription in ancient Greek, pottery, a sandstone offering table and purification basin, and a bronze coin depicting the Roman emperor Constantine.
Researchers say the tomb is particularly significant because its architecture and decoration combine traditional Egyptian funerary beliefs with cultural influences associated with Egypt under Roman rule.
14 steps lead to elaborate stone entrance
The tomb is approached by a staircase of 14 steps leading to an elaborate entrance decorated in an Egyptian architectural style.
Mohamed Abdel Badi, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the entrance incorporates a stone panel decorated with deeply carved hieroglyphic inscriptions, protective spells and religious recitations.
Architectural elements include an Egyptian-style cornice, a winged sun disc and decorative features resembling bundles of reeds.
Researchers also identified what the ministry described as an exceptionally rare funerary scene associated with the Amduat, an ancient Egyptian composition whose name can be translated as “That Which Is in the Afterworld”.
The Amduat describes the sun god’s nocturnal journey through the underworld, divided into 12 hours of the night, before his rebirth with the rising sun. Versions of the text first became particularly prominent in royal tombs during Egypt’s New Kingdom, more than a millennium before the Roman-period tomb at Bir al-Shughala was constructed.
Its appearance in a much later funerary context demonstrates the remarkable longevity of traditional Egyptian concepts of death, regeneration and the afterlife.
The entrance was found sealed by a stone closure decorated with a human figure surrounded by protective symbols.
Beyond it lies a hall constructed with plastered mudbrick and covered by a sloping roof, although part of its western section has collapsed. Two additional burial structures covered with plaster were identified on the right-hand side.
Greek poem mourns mysterious ‘Bisichthes’
One of the most important discoveries is a rectangular stone funerary stele installed on the southern wall.
Its upper section has a geometric form incorporating a carved sun disc, while its surface bears a 19-line funerary poem written in ancient Greek.
The inscription commemorates a person named Bisichthes, who researchers tentatively believe may have served as a judge.
Preliminary analysis dates the inscription to the late third or early fourth century AD.
The combination of a Greek literary inscription with traditional Egyptian religious architecture is particularly important for understanding the multicultural character of Egypt’s Western Desert during the Roman period.
Greek had remained an important administrative and cultural language in Egypt since the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC and continued to be widely used after the country became a Roman province in 30 BC.
Researchers believe the newly discovered inscription provides evidence for literary and intellectual life in the oasis during late antiquity.
Coin of Constantine discovered
Excavations also produced a bronze coin bearing an image or inscription of Emperor Constantine, who ruled in the early fourth century AD.
Its presence provides another chronological clue for activity at the tomb, although archaeologists will need to establish its precise archaeological context before determining whether it dates the original burial or later reuse of the structure.
Other finds include pottery vessels and sandstone installations interpreted as an offering table and a basin associated with purification rituals.
Evidence suggests that the tomb may have been reused after its initial construction. Archaeologists discovered an additional carved limestone slab above the main entrance, together with further stone funerary features.
Ancient Egyptian traditions survived under Roman rule
The discovery adds to growing archaeological evidence that traditional Egyptian religious practices remained influential centuries after Egypt came under Greek and then Roman control.
Rather than simply replacing indigenous customs, Greek and Roman cultural traditions frequently existed alongside — and became intertwined with — older Egyptian beliefs.
This cultural mixture is particularly visible in funerary archaeology, where Egyptian deities, hieroglyphic texts and traditional concepts of the afterlife could appear alongside Greek inscriptions and elements of Greco-
Roman art and architecture
Hisham Al-Lithi, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the architecture, inscriptions and funerary monuments discovered at Bir al-Shughala could provide important information about burial practices as well as the cultural and religious life of the oasis during the Roman period.
Bir al-Shughala is one of the most important archaeological areas associated with ancient Mothis, now known as Mut, in the Dakhla Oasis.
Mothis served as an important settlement in the oasis during the Roman and Byzantine periods. The modern name Bir al-Shughala derives from a well in the area.
Egyptian archaeological excavations began at the site in 2002 and have since uncovered numerous tombs displaying considerable variation in architecture and decoration.
Some incorporate distinctly Egyptian designs, while others contain architectural and artistic influences characteristic of the Roman and Byzantine periods.
Several tombs possess upper funerary shrines crowned by pyramid-shaped structures, leading archaeologists to suggest that parts of the cemetery may have been reserved for members of the oasis capital’s elite.
Inside, burial halls lead to chambers containing stone sarcophagi and pottery. Vaults were constructed from locally available sandstone and limestone, while some walls and ceilings were decorated with Egyptian funerary scenes and texts alongside Greek and Roman elements.
The newly discovered tomb provides an especially striking example of that cultural convergence: a pyramid-shaped monument containing Egyptian afterlife imagery, hieroglyphic protective texts and Greek funerary literature, all within a community living under Roman rule.
Further analysis of the inscriptions, architecture, pottery and coin could now help archaeologists establish more precisely when the tomb was constructed, who was buried there and how it was used and reused during the final centuries of ancient Egypt.
Sources : Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities