CAIRO, May 25 (Xinhua) — An Egyptian archaeological mission has uncovered a mudbrick building dating to the 6th-7th centuries in the Manqabad area of Assiut Governorate, south of Cairo, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced Sunday.
Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the two-level structure was covered in white mortar and contained several significant murals, read a ministry statement.
One mural, a common motif in Coptic art, symbolically depicts eyes surrounding a face, representing inner spiritual insight, Khaled said.
Another mural shows a man, believed to be Joseph the Carpenter, carrying a small child, likely Christ, flanked by Christ’s disciples and Coptic inscriptions, he added.
Gamal Mustafa, head of the council’s Islamic, Coptic, and Jewish Antiquities Sector, said the discovery also included a tombstone for a saint with Coptic inscriptions, votive vessels of various sizes bearing Coptic letters, and a stone frieze adorned with animal decorations, among others.
Mahmoud Mohamed, director general of the East Assiut Antiquities Zone for Islamic, Coptic, and Jewish Antiquities, said the Egyptian mission is continuing excavation and studying the uncovered murals to learn more about the building’s secrets and significance.
The Manqabad archaeological site, located some 12 km northwest of Assiut City, was initially discovered in 1965. Actual excavation at the site began in 1976, with intermittent excavation seasons since then.
