Researchers Discover Greek Settlement in Egypt But One Artifact Had a Link to Nefertiti’s Daughter

Archaeologists have found multiple proofs of the Greek legacy worldwide. Another recently joined the list in the form of a discovery in northern Egypt, stated Live Science. Findings regarding the discovery have been published in the journal Antiquity. Researchers have spotted what they believe to be an ancient Egyptian settlement at the site of Kom el-Nugus. This site is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) west of Alexandria and is placed on a rocky ridge. 

Experts found the settlement when they were examining a Greek settlement in the same area. Before the findings, archaeologists believed that the site had been first inhabited by Greeks around 332 B.C.The team was examining the remnants of the Greek settlement when they stumbled on a mudbrick. Analysis revealed that the mudbrick dates back to somewhere between 1550 and 1070 B.C. This indicated that the mudbrick was made during the New Kingdom period, which made researchers conclude that the Egyptian Empire also established a settlement at the site. If the assertion turns out to be true, then it is the earliest known Egyptian settlement north of Lake Mariout, as per experts.

The team, during their exploration, found structures like a temple and funerary chapels in the Egyptian settlement. The temple appeared to have been made by King Ramses II, while the funerary chapels were supposedly dedicated to military officials. Considering the subject of the funerary chapels, there is a possibility that the settlement was a military town, according to researchers. "If the settlement was indeed military in nature, it's possible that there was also a fortified wall and administrative buildings," study author Sylvain Dhennin, an archaeologist with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) added.

Archaeologists found many items and structures from the Egyptian settlement, but the most noteworthy of them was possibly an amphora jar. The jar was unique because it featured a stamp with Merytaton written on it. Merytaton is known in Egyptian history as the daughter of the pharaoh Akhenaten (reign 1349 to 1336 B.C.) and his wife Nefertiti. Akhenaten is a popular figure in Egyptian culture, known for starting a revolution trying to make Egyptians monotheists. His son, King Tut, reversed all his policies and supported polytheism. Considering that the jar carried the name of a Royal member, experts suggest it contained wine produced in a royal estate. The vineyards could have been protected by the military, who brought the jar with them when they occupied the region. 

Experts have yet to figure out the Egyptian settlement's size, but based on the way the remains were laid out around the street and its quality, the study speculates that a large population must have been using it. Researchers investigated the streets they found associated with the Egyptian settlement and figured out that they were built in such a way that they could drain the collected water. This facility possibly protected the buildings from erosion. "This street was ingeniously designed with a water-collecting system to drain surface water and protect the fragile mudbrick walls," Roger Forshaw, an honorary lecturer at the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology at the University of Manchester, who was not involved with the research, said.

Excavations are still ongoing at the site to find out more insights into this settlement. "Discovery of well-preserved levels and structures is bringing new dimensions to this New Kingdom settlement," Dhennin added, the New York Post stated. "Further work is needed to shed light on the New Kingdom history of the Mediterranean coast," she said.