Discovery sheds new light on life, trade, and burial customs.
Dubai: Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered a Second Intermediate Period settlement comprising tombs, homes, storage facilities and industrial installations at the Tell El Koa archaeological site in Ismailia Governorate, offering fresh insights into life in the eastern Nile Delta during the Hyksos era.
The discovery, made by an Egyptian archaeological mission working at Tell El Koa in Wadi Tumilat, includes 10 mudbrick tombs dating back to Egypt’s 15th Dynasty, along with a residential complex, kilns, silos, and a range of artefacts, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Sherif Fathy, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said the discovery offers a clearer understanding of settlement patterns in the eastern Delta during the Second Intermediate Period, revealing an integrated community that included residential areas, storage facilities, production zones, and burial grounds.
The excavation revealed a residential compound measuring approximately 30 by 60 metres, enclosed by a mudbrick wall and containing halls and rooms of varying sizes. Archaeologists also discovered kilns and storage silos to the east of the complex, pointing to organised domestic and economic activity.
Among the artefacts recovered were scarabs, bronze tools, pottery, alabaster kohl containers, and distinctive Tell El Yahudiyeh ware characteristic of the Second Intermediate Period. Initial studies of human remains suggest individuals aged between 25 and 40, while large quantities of animal bones indicate both daily consumption and funerary offerings.
Archaeologists also identified, for the first time at the site, human burials outside the mudbrick tombs, including some in crouched positions—an unusual burial practice that researchers say requires further study.
According to the Supreme Council of Antiquities, pottery bearing production marks and seals points to extensive trade networks, suggesting the settlement may have functioned as a distribution centre or an important commercial hub. Evidence also indicates the site remained occupied until the middle of the 18th Dynasty, spanning the transition from Hyksos rule to Egypt’s New Kingdom.
