Ancient Greek elegy dedicated to judge found in ancient Egyptian tomb sealed with protection spells

An ancient Greek funeral elegy stele was discovered in a pyramid-shaped mud-brick tomb at the Bir al-Shaghala site in Egypt's Dakhla Oasis. The tomb, dating to the Roman period, features a sandstone entrance with protective spells and a unique funerary scene. The 19-line stele, written in red ink, is dedicated to a person named Pesikhtis, possibly a judge. Additional finds include a sandstone offering table, pottery, and a bronze coin bearing Emperor Constantine's portrait.

Egypt's Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced the discovery of an ancient Greek funeral elegy stele within a pyramid-shaped mud-brick tomb at the Bir al-Shaghala archaeological site in the Dakhla Oasis. The tomb, dating to Egypt's Roman period, was built for the burial of a man and his wife. A 14-step staircase leads to a sandstone entrance decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions and protective funerary spells. The entrance is crowned by an Egyptian cornice with a winged sun disk and two cobras, and its upper lintel bears a funerary scene depicting the seventh hour of the Book of Amduat, previously unseen at the necropolis. The entrance was sealed by a stone slab carved with an Osirian image surrounded by spells. Inside, a mud-brick hall with a partially-collapsed vaulted ceiling leads to two burial chambers. The rectangular stele, affixed to the southern wall, is topped with a gabled stone centered on a sun-disk relief. Its 19 lines of ancient Greek text, written in red ink, are dedicated to a person named Pesikhtis, who preliminary study suggests may have been a judge. The elegy dates to the late third and early fourth centuries BCE, indicating literary and cultural life in the region during the Roman period. Additional finds include a sandstone offering table, purification basin, pottery vessels, and a bronze coin bearing the portrait of Emperor Constantine. Evidence suggests the tomb was later reused, with a mud-brick chapel and funerary shrine found above the entrance. Officials emphasized the discovery's importance for understanding Roman-period funerary practices and the succession of civilizations in Egypt.