Archaeological expedition in the Egyptian city Oxyrhyncus unveils a structure that could be related to water management
An archaeological expedition taking place this March in the old city of Oxyrhyncus has continued with the study of the site as part of the mission that was launched by the University of Barcelona, the Catalan Egyptology Society, the University of Montpellier, Palarq Foundation and the Department of Culture of Generalitat de Catalunya. In particular, they found an important circular structure of ten meters in diameter and five meters deep, from the Byzantine Period probably, which was under the sand. Also, the study has focused on the wall paintings of a basilica of the same period and researchers conducted the analysis and exhumation of human remains in burial crypts found in previous expeditions.
An archaeological expedition taking place this March in the old city of Oxyrhyncus has continued with the study of the site as part of the mission that was launched by the University of Barcelona, the Catalan Egyptology Society, the University of Montpellier, Palarq Foundation and the Department of Culture of Generalitat de Catalunya. In particular, they found an important circular structure of ten meters in diameter and five meters deep, from the Byzantine Period probably, which was under the sand. Also, the study has focused on the wall paintings of a basilica of the same period and researchers conducted the analysis and exhumation of human remains in burial crypts found in previous expeditions.
In order to bring this structure -which had been detected in the previous expedition- outside, they needed to take more than 200 cubic meters of sand. Now, an “important and strong” structure is visible, according to the member of the expedition Maite Mascort, but its function is still unknown. “We took a look at parallel constructions and we believe it has to do with water management, but it is not a water wagon or a place to keep the water” says Mascort. It is expected to dig out the surroundings of this structure to find some element that enables researchers to identify its function over the upcoming expedition, which will take place in November.
Regarding the wall paintings, they are in the crypt of Byzantina basilica, a building that had been a serapeum (temple dedicated to the deity Serapis, hybrid figure among Egyptian and Greek deities). It was covered with new walls, in the place where the paintings are -in order to protect and restore them in the next expedition. They detected up to four different painting layers. Regarding human remains, an anthropologist analysed and did research on the diseases those people had suffered from.
The mission in Oxyrhyncus is led by the UB emeritus lecturer Josep Padró. This population was known as Per-medjed in the pharaonic period and was one of the most important cities in Egypt during the Greco-Roman period. The remains of this city are near the current El-Bahnasa, a small town 180 km far from Cairo, next to the Nileʼs canal called Bahr Yusef. There are no traces of the pharaonic city but there is still an important necropolis that was inhabited for more than a thousand years, and there are also remains of the Greco-Roman city. Editions and Publications of the UB has a collection dedicated to the archaeological research in Egypt carried out at the UB, titled NOVA STUDIA AEGYPTIACA, led by Professor Padró. It gathers the results of many years of archaeologycal work by the researchers at the University of Oxyrhyncus.