Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered more than 20 funerary stelae depicting human figures at Tell El-Deir, an archaeological site in the Nile Delta. The news was reported by multiple news outlets, including Ahram and La Brújula Verde, following an announcement by Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).
The carved limestone grave markers are not only notable for their workmanship but for the religious symbols and deities engraved on their lateral sides and backs, including the griffin, Agathodaemon, and Isis-Thermuthis.
Agathodaemon is the snake associated with good luck in ancient Greek religion, while Isis-Thermouthis is the fusion of the Egyptian goddess Isis and the Egyptian harvest deity Renenutet, whose Greek name is Thermuthis, represented as a cobra and later assimilated by the Greeks to Agathodaemon. The griffin, meanwhile, is a mythological creature of Mesopotamia and ancient Greece.
According to Mohamed Abdel-Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities sector of the SCA, this combination of icons could only have emerged from Egypt’s contact with Greek culture during the Ptolemaic (305–30 BCE) and Roman (30 BCE–642 CE) periods, while the quality of the carvings indicated the high status of the graves’ occupants.
The excavation, carried out by an Egyptian archaeological mission under the supervision of the SCA, also uncovered a collection of incense burners, oil lamps, and funerary amulets, as well as pottery coffins.
Since work resumed at Tell El-Deir in 2007, archaeologists have uncovered thousands of artifacts, linked mainly to the 26th Dynasty, the last royal family of Egyptian origin before the Persian conquest of 525 BCE. This most recent find suggests that the necropolis was in continuous use from the Late Period to the end of Roman rule, adding to an understanding of burial practices at Tell El-Deir over time.
“This discovery demonstrates that Tell El-Deir was far more than a burial ground. Instead, it served as a fully developed funerary complex reflecting a distinct social, cultural and religious identity,” said Hesham El-Leithy, secretary-general of the SCA.
