Archaeologists have made a very rare discovery in Egypt: the ruins of an ancient city

The discovery of the ruins of the city of “Emet” adds to the wave of archaeological finds made in Egypt and sheds new light on a specific period of civilization along the Nile Delta , from the late period to the Roman era. A team of Egyptian and British archaeologists, the latter from the University of Manchester , have played a leading role in the current excavation campaign in the area of ​​Tell el-Faraoun (Tell Nabasha), in the center of Husseiniya, uncovering multi-storey dwellings , granaries and a ceremonial road linked to the cult of the cobra goddess Wadjet .

“These tower houses are found mainly in the Nile Delta between the Late and Roman periods and are rare in the rest of Egypt ,” said Dr Nielsen, who led the excavation campaign. He added: “Their presence here demonstrates that Emet was a thriving and densely built city , with a complex urban infrastructure .”

The discovery of the ancient city of Emet

The city of Emet, known in Ancient Egypt as Imet , was located in the eastern Nile Delta, near present-day Tell el-Faraoun, about 10 kilometers south of Tanis. It was the capital of the 19th nome of Lower Egypt and was home to an important temple dedicated to the goddess Wadjet. And it is precisely its ruins that were found during excavations carried out by a joint Egyptian-British campaign with the University of Sadat City in Cairo, directed by Dr Nicky Nielsen of the University of Manchester.

By combining remote sensing with field archaeology, the team has begun to gain a deeper understanding of the urban, religious and economic life of this city during the 4th century BC.

Excavations focused on the eastern hill and revealed dense concentrations of mud bricks in specific locations. Fieldwork revealed residential buildings that most likely date to the early or mid-4th century BC, including structures thought to be “tower houses,” multi-story dwellings designed to house large numbers of people.

These constructions are characterized by very thick foundations, capable of supporting the weight of the entire building. Tower houses were particularly widespread in the Nile Delta from the late period to the Roman era. The mission also discovered other buildings intended for service functions , such as warehouses for storing grain or shelters for animals .

The finds found during the excavations

In the temple area, the archaeological mission discovered a large limestone pavement and the remains of two massive mudbrick columns , probably covered with plaster. These remains are believed to belong to a building constructed over the processional road that connected the Late Period building with the temple of Wadjet, indicating that this road was out of use by the middle of the Ptolemaic Period.

The temple of Wadjet was restored during the reign of King Ramses II , again during that of King Ahmose II, and during the Achaemenid period it was used as a quarry.

Among the most significant finds are the upper part of a finely worked ushabti statue in green faience dating back to the 26th Dynasty, a stone stele depicting the god Horus standing on two crocodiles and holding serpents, surmounted by the image of the god Bes, and a bronze sistrum decorated with the heads of the goddess Hathor , dating back to the Late Period.