The discovery was made by the Egyptian archaeological mission working at Marina El Alamein on Egypt’s northwestern coast. It brings the total number of excavated tombs at the site to 44 since archaeological work began following the site’s discovery in 1986.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy described the discovery as a significant scientific addition that deepens understanding of the cultural identity of Marina El Alamein’s ancient inhabitants and helps redefine the city’s historical role as a major cultural and commercial crossroads linking Egypt with the wider Mediterranean world.
He noted that the Ministry continues to support archaeological excavations at the site alongside an ambitious development project to open Marina El Alamein to visitors, creating a new cultural tourism attraction that complements the North Coast’s renowned seaside destinations.
On his part, Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), explained that the development project will include a visitor center, electric carts, and visiting routes, a museum storage facility, an administrative building, and an open-air theatre. The project is expected to be completed during the first half of next year, transforming Marina El Alamein into a fully integrated archaeological destination.
The newly uncovered cemetery includes 11 rock-cut hypogea reaching depths of around eight metres, in addition to seven limestone-built surface tombs. Several of the tombs were found in an exceptional state of preservation, with burial chambers still sealed by their original stone slabs and untouched since antiquity.
Excavations also revealed numerous surface burials surrounding the cemetery, reflecting the city’s social diversity, as well as a water well that was later converted into a burial shaft, another indication of the continuity of ancient Egyptian funerary traditions during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.
Mohamed Abdel Badie, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said that among the most striking finds is a granite sarcophagus measuring 2.5 metres in length, discovered with its original lid still sealed in place. Human skeletal remains recovered from inside are currently undergoing scientific examination. Nearby, archaeologists unearthed fragments of a plaster sphinx, providing further evidence of the enduring influence of Egyptian religious and artistic traditions within the city during the Hellenistic and Roman eras.
“One of the most remarkable discoveries was the recovery of 24 gold funerary pieces placed inside the mouths of several deceased,” said Eman Abdel Khalek, head of the mission and director of the site. She added that this is the so-called “golden tongues,” a ritual believed to help the deceased to speak in the afterlife. The discoveries also include a rare gold Eye of Horus amulet, one of the most important protective symbols in ancient Egyptian belief.
The excavation produced a rich assemblage of archaeological finds, including complete and nearly complete pottery vessels, amphorae, oil lamps, plates, limestone altars and basins, together with architectural elements associated with the tombs.
A limestone offering altar carved in the form of the ancient Egyptian “false door”, a distinctive feature of Egyptian funerary architecture, was unearthed along with an unfinished marble statue believed to depict the goddess Aphrodite, a limestone funerary stela showing a seated man holding a bird, and a collection of glass lacrimaria.
Located around 100 kilometres west of Alexandria, Marina El Alamein is widely believed to be the ancient city of Leukaspis, mentioned by the Greek geographer Strabo. Flourishing from the Hellenistic through the Byzantine periods, the city reached its height between the first and third centuries AD as an important urban, commercial and maritime centre on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.
Since its discovery in 1986, excavations have revealed one of Egypt’s best-preserved ancient coastal cities, with its street grid, residential quarters, public buildings, harbour, commercial districts and extensive cemeteries offering an exceptional window into the multicultural character of Mediterranean life in antiquity.
The latest discoveries represent another milestone in reconstructing the history of Marina El Alamein and reinforce the site’s importance as one of Egypt’s most promising archaeological and cultural destinations.
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