Ptolemaic
rock-hewn tombs uncovered in Alexandria's western cemetery. Written By/ Nevine
El-Aref.
An
Egyptian archaeological mission discovered a Ptolemaic necropolis in
Alexandria’s western cemetery while carrying out a preliminary archaeological
inspection before erecting an iron gate around a workshop at the Gabal
Al-Zaytoun railway station in Alexandria.
Mostafa
Waziri, the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Ahram
Online that the ministry has allocated money for an excavation and to uncover
the remaining part of the cemetery.
He added that the mission found a
collection of rock-hewn tombs with stairs leading to a small hall that may had
been used as a resting area for visitors, as well as another open court
surrounded by burial recesses.
Aymen
Ashmawi, the head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said that the
mission also unearthed a collection of lamps decorated with animal scenes and a
cistern for funerary rituals, along with a number of clay and glass pots. A
collection of skeletons and human bones were also uncovered.
“Early studies show that this
necropolis had been used across several historical periods and that it was
dedicated to impoverished citizens,” Ashmawi explains. He added that some of
the tombs featured coloured and decorated layers of plaster, while other parts
were coloured less.
Regretfully the tombs are in very poor condition
due to a lack of conservation during the British colonial period when the
railways were constructed, as well as the deterioration suffered as a result of
the military invasion in World War II.
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