CAIRO, Dec 31 (NNN-MENA) – The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, announced the discovery of several industrial workshops, dating back to the Late Period (747-332 BC), and the early stages of the Ptolemaic era (332-30 BC) in Beheira governorate, north of Cairo.
According to a statement from the ministry, a joint Egyptian-Italian archaeological mission, uncovered these industrial workshops, alongside part of a Roman cemetery, featuring various burial patterns, during excavations at the sites of Kom Al-Ahmar and Kom Wassit in Beheira.
The industrial workshops comprise a large building, divided into at least six rooms, according to Mohamed Abdel-Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, at the ministry.
Two of the rooms were dedicated to fish processing, with the mission uncovering around 9,700 fish bones – evidence of a widespread salted fish industry, during that period, he said.
Abdel-Badie added that, the other rooms were likely used to produce metal and stone tools, as well as, faience amulets, supported by the discovery of several unfinished limestone statues and other items at various stages of manufacture.
The excavation also yielded imported amphorae and fragments of Greek pottery, dating the workshops’ activity to the 5th century BC.
Secretary-General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mohamed Ismail Khaled, said, the discovery could help deepen the understanding of human activity and daily life in the western Nile Delta, and the hinterlands surrounding Alexandria, according to the statement.
He explained that, these findings represent an important scientific addition to the study of settlement patterns, funerary practices, and industrial activities in the Western Nile Delta, adding that, they provide new insights into regional communication networks, from the Late Period through the Roman and early Islamic eras.– NNN-MENA