For the first time in 50 years, archaeologists have discovered Fayum mummy portraits at an ancient Egyptian site.
Archaeologists have discovered ancient mummies buried with stunning, lifelike portraits of the deceased. The mummies were interred in a cemetery at the ancient city of Philadelphia in Egypt, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Dec 1.
The city of Philadelphia, located about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of Cairo in the Fayoum area of Egypt, was founded during the Ptolemaic period (304 B.C. to 30 B.C.) when Egypt was ruled by a dynasty of pharaohs descended from one of Alexander the Great’s generals. Philadelphia — Greek for the city of brotherly love — continued to flourish even after the dynasty fell and the Romans took control of Egypt.
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