Evidence of unknown ritual activity in an Egyptian temple

Oct. 7 () –

Archaeologists from the Sikait Project have discovered evidence of unknown intense ritual activity at the excavation of an ancient religious complex in the Egyptian eastern desert.

The works, directed by the UAB (Autonomous University of Barcelona) professor Joan Oller Guzmán, focused on the Berenike site, a Greco-Roman seaport, and present unprecedented discoveries linked to the presence of the blemmyes, a nomadic people.

The article, published in American Journal of Archaeology, describes the archaeological excavation of a religious complex from the Late Roman Period (4th to 6th centuries AD) named “Shrine of the Falcon” by researchers, and located within the North Complex, one of the most important buildings in the city of Berenike at the time .

The site was a Red Sea port founded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (3rd century BC) and continued to operate into the Roman and Byzantine periods, when it became the main entry point for trade from the Horn of Africa, Arabia and India.

Within this time period, one of the phases with the most new discoveries was the one corresponding to the late Roman period, from the 4th to 6th centuries AD, a time when the city appeared to be partially occupied and controlled by the Blemmyes, a group of nomadic people from the Nubian region who were at the time expanding their domains throughout most of the eastern desert Of Egipt. In this sense, the North Complex is essential to clearly demonstrate a link with the Blemmyes people, thanks to the finding of inscriptions of some of its kings or the aforementioned Sanctuary of the Falcon.

The researchers were able to identify a small traditional Egyptian temple, which after the 4th century was adapted by the Blemmyes to their own belief system. “The material findings are especially noteworthy and include offerings such as harpoons, cube-shaped statues and a stele with indications related to religious activities, which was chosen for the cover of the latest issue of the magazine,” he points out. it’s a statement the UAB researcher Joan Oller.

The most remarkable consecrated element found was the arrangement of up to 15 falcons inside the sanctuary, most of them headless. Although falcon burials for religious purposes had already been observed in the Nile Valley, as well as the cult of individual birds of this species, this is the first time that researchers have discovered falcons buried inside a temple and accompanied by eggs, something completely unprecedented.

At other sites, researchers had found mummified headless falcons, but always only individual specimens, never in groups as in the case of Berenike. The stela contains a curious inscription, which says: “It is improper to boil a head here”, which far from being a dedication or sign of gratitude as an inscription usually corresponds, is a message forbidding all those who enter to boil their heads. of the animals inside the temple, considered a secular activity.

According to Joan Oller, “all these elements point to an intense ritual activity that combines Egyptian traditions with the contributions of the Blemmyes, supported by a theological basis possibly related to the cult of the god Khonsu”. And she adds: “The discoveries further our knowledge of these semi-nomadic people, the Blemmyes, who lived in the eastern desert during the decline of the Roman Empire“.