Egyptian Archaeologists Uncover Greco-Roman Stelae at Tell El-Deir

Archaeologists from Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) have uncovered more than 20 limestone funerary stelae depicting human figures at the Tell El‑Deir site in the Nile Delta. The carved stones display a blend of Egyptian and Greco‑Roman iconography, including griffins, the snake deity Agathodaemon and the hybrid goddess Isis‑Thermouthis, indicating high‑status burials and cultural exchange during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.

The excavation also yielded incense burners, oil lamps, barrel‑shaped anthropoid coffins and numerous amulets, suggesting that the necropolis was a fully developed funerary complex used continuously from the Late Period through the end of Roman rule. “This discovery demonstrates that Tell El‑Deir was far more than a burial ground,” said SCA secretary‑general Hesham El‑Leithy, while head of the Antiquities sector Mohamed Abdel‑Badié noted the site’s value as a living record of centuries of social and religious evolution.