Discovered 'City of the Dead' with over 300 Tombs
An ancient cemetery containing more than 300 mummy tombs has been unearthed in Egypt, in a discovery scientists have since dubbed the “City of the Dead.”
Archaeologists have spent five years excavating a site once located on a hill near the modern Mausoleum of Aga Khan III. More recently, an international team of researchers discovered 36 new tombs at the site that they believe were used for about 900 years, from the 6th century BC to the 9th century AD; each tomb contained the remains of 30-40 people.
According to Ayman Ashmawy, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, 30-40% of the remains belonged to infants and adolescents, many of whom died from infectious diseases and other potentially lethal disorders, including anemia, tuberculosis, and organ pathologies. Patrizia Piacentini, an archaeologist from the University of Milan, is leading a team of researchers to uncover more details about the ancient city of Aswan, once an important commercial hub, granite quarry, and military outpost on the eastern bank of the Nile River, founded around 4,500 years ago.
"It has been a truly spectacular discovery, unique in Egypt," said Piacentini in a statement. "The people of Aswan covered the hill with tombs. It's a kind of City of the Dead." The city known today as Aswan was initially called Swenett and later Swan, a name that translates to "market," because the commercial center welcomed travelers and settlers from the farthest reaches of Africa and Europe. "Aswan has always been a crossroads," Piacentini added. "People came from east to west. They came here because it was the frontier; southern products arrived in Aswan and then dispersed everywhere else."
The City of the Dead was first identified in 2019 during the discovery of a tomb containing the mummies of two children and shortly thereafter their presumed parents, according to CT scans. Each subsequent excavation has unearthed dozens more tombs and provided further clues about a previously unexplored society that existed over 2,000 years ago. Additional excavations have also revealed that bodies were buried according to social class: more prominent members, such as the remains of Aswan's chief general, were buried in tombs atop the hill. Tombs of individuals from different social classes often contained ceremonial offerings to the deceased, including ceramics and wooden sculptures. The better-preserved mummies will be sent to museums for long-term conservation and display, while others will be studied and replaced as they were found.
