Egyptian Archaeologists Unearth 2,300-Year-Old Cemetery With 2 Wild Boars at Tell Kom Aziza
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Jun 24
Egyptian Archaeologists Unearth 2,300-Year-Old Cemetery With 2 Wild Boars at Tell Kom Aziza
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jun 24
Summary
Tell Kom Aziza in Egypt’s Nile Delta has yielded a Greco-Roman cemetery used from about 332 B.C. to 395 A.D., with remains and artifacts tracing funerary practices across roughly six centuries.
Excavators found sharply varied burials—simple pits, mudbrick-lined graves and painted plaster coffins—along with individual and collective interments, differing body orientations and hand positions including the Osirian pose.
Two complete wild boar skeletons stood out as a rare funerary-site find; archaeologists said their role is still unclear, though boars were linked to the deity Seth in ancient Egyptian belief.
Pottery ranging from the Old Kingdom to the Greco-Roman era suggests the site shifted from a settlement hub into a major burial ground and was reused over millennia.
Egypt’s antiquities officials said digging is continuing to map the site’s development and piece together longer-term human activity in the area.
What secrets do varied burial styles reveal about life and death in Greco-Roman Egypt?
Why were boars, symbols of chaos, buried in this sacred Egyptian cemetery?
Unveiling Tell Kom Aziza: 2026 Excavations Reveal Rare Wild Boar Burials and Multi-Period Rituals in Egypt’s Nile Delta
Overview
In June 2026, Egyptian archaeologists made a major discovery at Tell Kom Aziza, a site in northern Egypt now recognized for its great archaeological potential. Officials describe it as one of the Nile Delta’s most promising multi-period sites, revealing a multi-layered record of continuous human occupation. The site features a Greco-Roman cemetery with a remarkable diversity of burial practices, including rare boar burials. These varied burial types may reflect social differences or changing ritual customs. The discovery also includes settlement remains from different historical periods, highlighting the rich and complex history of Tell Kom Aziza.