• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Ancient Portraits Of Egyptian Mummies Found For First Time In Century

December 7, 2022 by Deborah Bloomfield

For the first time in over a century, archaeologists have discovered ancient mummies buried alongside painted portraits, providing an unprecedented glimpse into the lives of the ancient Egyptians. The portraits were found at the Gerza archaeological site in the ancient city of Fayum around 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Cairo, as per a recent announcement from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Excavations at the site have recently been focused on a huge funerary building from the Ptolemaic and Roman eras, dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE,  which was first discovered in 2016. 

Advertisement

Within this structure, they unearthed a number of human remains that have been laid to rest in a diversity of styles, from high-quality mummification to a simple burial. The team believes the type of burial likely reflects the individual’s wealth and social status.

An ancient Egyptian mummy in a painted sarcophagus

One of the mummys discovered at the excvation. Image credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Along with the bodies, the team also excavated a rare terracotta statue of the goddess Isis-Aphrodite in one of the wooden coffins and papyrus inscriptions written in Demotic and Greek script that explains the life of those buried at the site. 

Chief among the finds are some Fayoum portraits, paintings on a wooden board that depict the deceased person. They are typically associated with high social status, generally found above the mummies of Roman Egypt’s upper social castes, such as military leaders, civil servants, and religious figures.

Advertisement

Fayoum portraits are scarcely found alongside ancient Egyptian mummies. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities explains that some of the last mummy portraits like this were discovered by British archaeologist Flinders Petrie over 115 years ago, years before Egyptologists had even excavated the tomb of Tutankhamun.

The Gerza archaeological site in the ancient city of Fayum in the Egyptian desert.

The Gerza archaeological site in the ancient city of Fayum. Image credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Thanks to the dry heat of Egypt and the tightly sealed tombs, many of these portraits remain in remarkably good condition and still beam with vibrant color. Historians are particularly fond of these relics as they provide a unique insight into the hairstyles, clothes, and jewelry of the time. The recently discovered portrait, for instance, clearly shows the distinctive hairstyle of the individual, as well as their rings, bracelets, and necklaces. 

Given their naturalistic style, it’s hard to believe these paintings came from ancient Egyptians. Their style is strongly influenced by the artistic traditions of the Greco-Romans who controlled Egypt from 30 BC until 641 CE. It’s said that extremely similar portraits can be found in ancient archaeological sites in Italy, such as Pompeii. 

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Taliban co-founder Baradar to lead new Afghanistan govt – sources
  2. Tennis-Raducanu can become one of world’s most marketable athletes
  3. Pandemic recovery fuels deal craze as third-quarter M&A breaks all records
  4. “Loab”: Why Does AI Keep Generating Images Of This (Slightly Terrifying) Woman?

Source Link: Ancient Portraits Of Egyptian Mummies Found For First Time In Century

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Earth’s Most Show-Stopping Electrical Storm Sees 280 Lightning Bolts An Hour
  • “Hot Rock” Under Appalachians Traveled From Greenland To US At 20 Kilometers Per Million Years – And Is Still Moving
  • Scientists Succeed In Capturing Elusive “Ghost Particles” Escaping Nuclear Reactor
  • Just How Many “Sixth Senses” Do We Have, Anyway?
  • No Life But Lots Of Water – Latest Observations From Controversial Planet K2-18b
  • Is The Shroud Of Turin Real Or Fake?
  • Memories Of Places “Drift” In The Brain – Even When The Environment Doesn’t Change
  • People Are Just Realizing That One Horse Is More Powerful Than One Horsepower
  • For 100 Years, A Stable 20-Electron Ferrocene Molecule Was Thought “Improbable” – Until Now
  • “I Saved A PNG Image To A Bird”: YouTuber Stores 176KB Drawing Of A Bird Inside A Bird’s Song
  • The Falkland Islands Wolf: The Tragic Tale Of The First Known Canid Humans Drove To Extinction
  • There’s A Forever Chemical That’s In Your Water, Food, And Blood — And Levels Are “Increasing Irreversibly”
  • “World’s Rarest Bear” Captured On Camera In Mongolian Desert – With A Baby!
  • Alligators Eat Rocks For An Incredibly Smart Reason
  • New Study Raises “Disturbing Prospect” About Alien Civilizations Using Dyson Swarms
  • The Khamar-Daban Incident Is So Strange It Is Known As “Buryatia’s Dyatlov Pass”
  • Zebroids, Zeedonks, Zorses, Zonies: Welcome To The World Of Zebra Hybrids
  • How Far Into The Universe Can You See With Your Naked Eye?
  • “Rarest Baryon Decay Ever Observed So Far” Found In Experiment That Wasn’t Even Looking For It
  • Scientists “Read Minds” By Opening The Brain’s “Filing Cabinet” Of Memories
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version