Los residentes de élite de Gersha fueron enterrados en una enorme tumba en lo profundo de las calles arenosas de este puesto agrícola, y dentro de ella, los arqueólogos recuperaron los rostros polvorientos de los antiguos egipcios fallecidos en una colección de raros retratos de momias antiguas.

Una de las cámaras funerarias del yacimiento recién descubierto en Gerza. (Ministerio de Turismo y Antigüedades)

Coming Eye-to-Eye with Ancient Egyptian Mummy PortraitsDr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said In a press release that the “huge” funerary structure was first identified in 2016. He said both the architecture and artifacts recovered within date back to the ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations. To the south of the tomb’s colored lime mortar floor, which was finished with interchangeable tiles, a column shed was found containing four broken columns.

Heritage Daily reported that the funerary building was constructed of stone blocks and descended several floors into the ground. Towering arched stone doorways lead to six huge mud-brick tombs representing what the discoverers described as “mass graves in the Catacomb style.” Within the burial chambers archaeologists discovered “intricately decorated wooden coffins” carved in both ancient Egyptian and Greek letters.

However, the find that’s making the headlines was a group of well-preserved mummy portraits offering insights into the lives of the long-deceased ancient Egyptians.

The archaeological site in the Gerza cemetery where the rare mummy portraits were discovered. (Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities)

Mummy Portraits Guarded by the Goddess Isis-Aphrodite

Dr. Adel Okasha, head of the Central Department of Egyptian Antiquities in Central Egypt, said the mummy portraits were unearthed on the tenth excavation season of the archaeological mission. He explained that the new discoveries show the “diversity and difference in the accuracy and quality of the embalming process during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras.” What this means is that the corpses of deceased elites were given “high-quality embalming,” while lower-upper classes were left to rot.

Basem Gehad, the head of the mission, said the excavators recovered several different styled coffins, including some in human form and others in the Greek form with a gabled cover. Inside one of the wooden coffins the researchers found “a rare terracotta statue of the goddess Isis-Aphrodite,” the great fertility goddess associated with marriage, childbirth and rebirth. Furthermore, papyrus records written in Demotic and Greek script revealed the social, economic and religious conditions of the regional inhabitants, added Okasha.

Waiting 115 Years for Comparative Mummy Portraits

Okasha said the primary reason the mummy portraits are being heralded as “the most important discovery,” is because the last discovery of portraits in Fayum was made over 115 years ago by the English Egyptologist Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie.

In the 1990s the British Museum hosted an exhibition titled Ancient faces: mummy portraits from Roman Egypt. This exhibit shared their understanding of mummy portrait painting technologies and materials. Now, these new portraits will allow for comparative analysis, revealing even more about how these arts were created.

Uno de los raros retratos de momias descubiertos en Egipto. (Ministerio de Turismo y Antigüedades)

Descubriendo un antiguo asentamiento perdido en las arenas del tiempo Según un artículo de investigación de 2019 publicado en la Universidad Brigham Young por el profesor Kerry Muhlestein, el asentamiento multinacional de Gerza (Filadelfia) está ubicado donde las colinas locales brindan acceso desde el valle del Nilo. Estaba en una posición ideal para asentar mercenarios, comerciar, distribuir bienes, proteger el Fayum y recaudar impuestos.

A principios del siglo IV se construyó una fortaleza militar para defender el lugar, lo que indica que todavía estaba floreciente en aquella época. Sin embargo, la población del asentamiento disminuyó rápidamente poco después de indicar el colapso de Gerza a mediados del siglo IV.

Gerza, Tanis y todos los demás centros comerciales circundantes decayeron en los siglos IV y V d.C. después de la sedimentación y otros daños en Bahr Seila, que era “el alma agrícola” de las comunidades del noreste de Fayum, según Muhlestein. A medida que las aldeas fueron abandonadas, las historias de sus habitantes fueron barridas por el viento y cubiertas bajo la arena del tiempo y perdidas durante los últimos 2.300 años. Por eso los retratos de momias son tan importantes para la arqueología: porque nos permiten encontrarnos cara a cara con antiguos agricultores y comerciantes que vivían fuera de las megaciudades.

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