(ORDO NEWS) — An international team of archaeologists presented the results of a study that started back in 2009.
Within its framework, scientists managed to discover the site of the battle of the Great Revolt, which is known to science from the famous text on the Rosetta Stone.
Live Science tells about the discovery. Archaeologists have long known about the Great Revolt.
It was a series of battles between the ancient Egyptians and the troops of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which seized power in Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great. The uprising lasted from 207 to 184 BC.
We know it well because the rebellion is mentioned in the texts on the famous Rosetta Stone (the study of these texts helped scientists decipher the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs).
Descriptions are also found in other historical texts, based on which archaeologists were able to find the exact location of one of the key battles of the uprising.
The research took many years. Back in 2009, archaeologists began excavations at a site known as Tell el-Timai in northern Egypt.
There, in the Nile Delta, in ancient times stood the Greco-Roman industrial city of Tmuis. More than a decade of excavation has brought researchers physical evidence that Tmuis was the “epicenter” of a violent conflict.
It only remained to date the found objects and determine what kind of conflict this ancient city was a witness to.
The authors of the work write that in more than ten years of work they managed to unearth the remains of numerous buildings that were burned to the ground.
In addition, many military artifacts have been unearthed, including weapons including ballistas. A variety of coins and a headless statue depicting Queen Arsinoe II of the Ptolemaic dynasty were found.
In addition, archaeologists have found many unburied human bodies. These people were killed in antiquity, and their bodies remained scattered throughout the city.
“In ancient Egypt, people paid a lot of attention to the burial of the dead, so the fact that the dead people were not buried in this city says a lot,” said Jay Silverstein, lead author of the study, co-director of the Tell Timai project.
“All these finds sent us a message that some historical event happened here, and we had to find out what it was.”
The researchers found that the unburied people were most likely Greeks who lived in Tmuis. They died defending their city from the rebellious Egyptians.
Artifact analysis confirmed that Tmuis was burned during the Great Revolt. An abandoned pottery kiln complex from the Ptolemaic period has also been found here.
And historical texts confirm that such workshops were closed precisely during the period of the Ptolemaic dynasty, when the Egyptians unsuccessfully tried to overthrow these rulers during the Great Revolt.
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