Fagg El Gamous (translated Way of the Buffalo) is an ancient Egyptian cemetery located in the Faiyum Governorate dating from the 1st to the 7th century AD, the period of Roman rule in Egypt.
The cemetery was discovered by a team of archeologists from Brigham Young University in 1980. They were given sole responsibility for the excavation in 1981.
The excavations are done under time-pressure due to threat of incursion by local farmers who wish to expand their fields across the cemetery.[1]
The skeletons and natural mummies (i.e. not the result of a professional mummification as used for royalty), seem to be common people; "The bodies have been well preserved, so the organs and remains are virtually complete. The preservation results from sealing in the moisture and the atmosphere of the burial spot."[2] By 2014, roughly 1,000 bodies had been excavated at the site.[2]
In 1988, it was noted by the researchers that the graveyard contained an unexpected number of blondes amongst the naturally mummified bodies, as well as oddities in tooth decay amongst the buried; "Of those whose hair was preserved 54% were blondes or redheads, and the percentage grows to 87% when light-brown hair color is added".[3] In 2014, it was revealed that burials seem to be clustered by hair-colour, those with red-hair are in one area, those with blonde hair in another.[1]
Controversy
In 2014, the BYU team claimed that the cemetery contains over a million mummies.[4][5]
In an e-mail to Newsweek, Kerry Muhlestein explained "In a square that is 5 by 5 meters across and usually just over 2 meters deep, we will typically find about 40 burials. The cemetery is very large and so far seems to maintain that kind of burial density throughout. Thus, the math suggests that there are over a million mummies in the cemetery, though we cannot be certain of this without further exploration and a thorough academic review process."[6]
The corpses were found buried in deep shafts cut into the limestone rock.[7]
The "million mummies" claim was promptly dismissed by Egyptian authorities, since the data reported to the press by the Brigham Young University team were only an estimate, and furthermore these were referring to burials, not necessarily mummies: indeed, the team has discovered many poorly preserved skeletons, ranging from a person 213 cm tall to an 18-month-old girl's remains, but the only real mummy ever found at Fagg El Gamous was unearthed in 1988.[8][9]
After working things out with Egyptian authorities, the team was granted renewed permission to excavate in mid January 2015.[2]
Publications
Excavating a Christian Cemetery Near Selia, in the Fayum Region of Egypt Excavations at Seila, Egypt, ed. C. Wilfred Griggs (1988)
Rethinking burial dates at a Graeco-Roman Cemetery: Fagg El Gamous, Fayoum, Egypt Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2015)
Photos at Livescience
References
^ abPruitt, Sarah (19 December 2014). "Egyptian Cemetery May Contain a Million Mummies". History. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
^C. Wilfred Griggs, "Excavating a Christian Cemetery Near Selia, in the Fayum Region of Egypt", in Excavations at Seila, Egypt, ed. C. Wilfred Griggs, (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1988), 74–84.
^Osborne, Hannah (17 December 2014). "One million 'mummies' discovered in ancient Egyptian cemetery". International Business Times. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
^Jarus, Owen (17 December 2014). "Million-Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt". Live Science. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
^"Egyptian cemetery may hold over one million mummies". www.haaretz.com. Haaretz. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
^"Fayoum antiquities official denies 'million mummies' reports". Ahram Online. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
^"Egypt antiquity ministry slams US mission after 'million mummy' controversy". Ahram Online. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
January 26, 2023
gamous, fagg, gamous, translated, buffalo, ancient, egyptian, cemetery, located, faiyum, governorate, dating, from, century, period, roman, rule, egypt, cemetery, discovered, team, archeologists, from, brigham, young, university, 1980, they, were, given, sole,. Fagg El Gamous translated Way of the Buffalo is an ancient Egyptian cemetery located in the Faiyum Governorate dating from the 1st to the 7th century AD the period of Roman rule in Egypt The cemetery was discovered by a team of archeologists from Brigham Young University in 1980 They were given sole responsibility for the excavation in 1981 The excavations are done under time pressure due to threat of incursion by local farmers who wish to expand their fields across the cemetery 1 The skeletons and natural mummies i e not the result of a professional mummification as used for royalty seem to be common people The bodies have been well preserved so the organs and remains are virtually complete The preservation results from sealing in the moisture and the atmosphere of the burial spot 2 By 2014 roughly 1 000 bodies had been excavated at the site 2 In 1988 it was noted by the researchers that the graveyard contained an unexpected number of blondes amongst the naturally mummified bodies as well as oddities in tooth decay amongst the buried Of those whose hair was preserved 54 were blondes or redheads and the percentage grows to 87 when light brown hair color is added 3 In 2014 it was revealed that burials seem to be clustered by hair colour those with red hair are in one area those with blonde hair in another 1 Controversy EditIn 2014 the BYU team claimed that the cemetery contains over a million mummies 4 5 In an e mail to Newsweek Kerry Muhlestein explained In a square that is 5 by 5 meters across and usually just over 2 meters deep we will typically find about 40 burials The cemetery is very large and so far seems to maintain that kind of burial density throughout Thus the math suggests that there are over a million mummies in the cemetery though we cannot be certain of this without further exploration and a thorough academic review process 6 The corpses were found buried in deep shafts cut into the limestone rock 7 The million mummies claim was promptly dismissed by Egyptian authorities since the data reported to the press by the Brigham Young University team were only an estimate and furthermore these were referring to burials not necessarily mummies indeed the team has discovered many poorly preserved skeletons ranging from a person 213 cm tall to an 18 month old girl s remains but the only real mummy ever found at Fagg El Gamous was unearthed in 1988 8 9 After working things out with Egyptian authorities the team was granted renewed permission to excavate in mid January 2015 2 Publications EditExcavating a Christian Cemetery Near Selia in the Fayum Region of Egypt Excavations at Seila Egypt ed C Wilfred Griggs 1988 Rethinking burial dates at a Graeco Roman Cemetery Fagg El Gamous Fayoum Egypt Journal of Archaeological Science Reports 2015 Photos at LivescienceReferences Edit a b Pruitt Sarah 19 December 2014 Egyptian Cemetery May Contain a Million Mummies History Retrieved 17 April 2015 a b c BYU Press release C Wilfred Griggs Excavating a Christian Cemetery Near Selia in the Fayum Region of Egypt in Excavations at Seila Egypt ed C Wilfred Griggs Provo Utah Religious Studies Center Brigham Young University 1988 74 84 Osborne Hannah 17 December 2014 One million mummies discovered in ancient Egyptian cemetery International Business Times Retrieved 17 December 2014 Jarus Owen 17 December 2014 Million Mummy Cemetery Unearthed in Egypt Live Science Retrieved 17 December 2014 Newsweek Egyptian cemetery may hold over one million mummies www haaretz com Haaretz 20 December 2014 Retrieved 22 December 2014 Fayoum antiquities official denies million mummies reports Ahram Online Retrieved 21 December 2014 Egypt antiquity ministry slams US mission after million mummy controversy Ahram Online Retrieved 21 December 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fag el Gamous amp oldid 1126882401, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
