BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Ancient Egyptian City Unearthed

Imet revealed in new dig

Green faience ushabti from the Egyptian city of Imet. Courtesy Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

A joint British-Egyptian excavation at the site of Tell Nebesha in northern Egypt has uncovered the ancient city of Imet. Although excavations had previously been conducted in the area, the town had remained largely untouched by archaeologists. Now, utilizing satellite imagery and traditional archaeology, the team from the University of Manchester and the University of Sadat City has begun excavations of the ancient urban center.

FREE ebook: Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Excavating Imet

Stone amulet depicting the god Horus. Courtesy Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

After only their first excavation season, the team has already uncovered a large number of densely built dwellings, dating to the early or mid-fourth century BCE. Many of these dwellings were “tower houses,” a type of multistory dwelling that was popular in Egypt from the Late Period (c. 525–332 BCE) through the Roman period (c. 31 BCE–330 CE). These houses, which feature thick foundation walls to support their multistory superstructures, appear to have accommodated many inhabitants.

The archaeologists also discovered numerous areas for storing goods and housing animals, as well as a cooking pot still containing the remains of a fish stew, along with various religious and funerary objects. Among these objects was the upper part of a green faience ushabti statuette, a small stone amulet depicting the god Horus standing on two crocodiles while holding snakes, and a bronze sistrum decorated with two heads of the goddess Hathor.

The team also conducted excavations at the nearby temple complex, dedicated to the Egyptian cobra goddess Wadjet. Previous teams had already excavated parts of the temple, which dates back to at least the 18th Dynasty (c. 1550–1292 BCE). During their renewed excavations, archaeologists identified a large limestone floor and the remains of two massive mudbrick columns that had been built over part of the temple’s processional road during the Ptolemaic period (c. 332–31 BCE). The finds show that the processional road had gone out of use by this time.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Egyptian Excavation Reveals Byzantine Monastery

Egyptian “Lost Golden City” Uncovered Near Luxor

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Egypt’s Forgotten City

Egyptian Papyrus Sheds New Light on Jewish History

Ancient Egypt’s Blaze of Glory