An Egyptian archaeological mission working at Tell el-Yahudiya in Qalyubia Governorate has uncovered several rock-cut tombs of different architectural types, along with further remains of a Roman military camp in the upper layers above the tombs.

Dr. Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the discovery adds important new information to the history of Tell el-Yahudiya. He noted that the tombs’ significance lies not only in their architectural diversity but also in the rarity of rock-cut tombs in the Nile Delta, where the predominantly clay soil generally made this form of burial architecture uncommon.

Archaeological evidence and finds recovered from the tombs date them to the late New Kingdom and show continued use into the Late Period, indicating prolonged funerary activity at the site across successive historical periods.

Continued excavation of the Roman camp, located in the surface layers above the tombs, adds another chapter to the site’s long history and shows that Tell el-Yahudiya remained in use across different periods.

Dr. Ayman Ashmawy, adviser to the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that the newly discovered tombs belong to two principal architectural types. The first consists of tombs entered by a staircase leading to a hall containing burial niches, while the second features a rectangular shaft leading to two burial chambers.

These forms are considered particularly distinctive of the archaeological landscape of Qalyubia and the eastern Delta. Comparable examples of rock-cut tombs in the Delta are relatively limited, with known parallels including examples at Kom el-Shoqafa in Alexandria and sites along the North Coast.

Anwar Abdel-Samad, Director-General of Qalyubia Antiquities and head of the archaeological mission, said excavators also recovered a number of portable finds associated with the tombs, which helped establish their chronology and the periods during which they were used.

The discoveries are particularly significant given Tell el-Yahudiya’s long history. The site is strongly associated with the Hyksos period, when it hosted a large encampment, and it remained occupied and in use during the Greek and Roman periods.