DAMIETTA, EGYPT—According to a Live Science report, archaeologists have recovered pottery, shabti figurines, bronze coins, and gold foil figures from more than 60 burials in Damietta, a city located in northern Egypt on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Some of the graves have been dated to the 26th Dynasty (688–525 B.C.) and the Ptolemaic period (304–30 B.C.). Thirty-eight bronze coins from the Ptolemaic period were found in one pottery vessel. Many of these coins bear an image of Zeus Ammon, a combination of the Greek god Zeus and the Egyptian god Ammon, or Amun. One of the coins was engraved with an eagle and a cornucopia. Some of the gold-foil figures appear to depict “ba-birds,” human-headed creatures with wings that could gather food for the deceased. Other gold-foil figures represent the “eye of Horus,” which provided the protection of the falcon-headed god. To read about the virtual unwrapping of Amenhotep I's mummy, go to "Inside a Pharaoh's Coffin," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2022.
