Tanis

صان الحجر

Egypt · Sharqia

Ancient cityExcavation ongoing
Approximate period1,100 BCE — 600 CEThird Intermediate Period–Late Antiquity See on the map ↓

In brief

Tanis, in the Nile Delta, was one of the important capitals of the Third Intermediate Period. The royal tombs within the temple precinct have yielded rich, partially preserved grave goods.

What was found?

  • 1Royal tombs

    The tombs of rulers of Dynasties XXI and XXII were found within the temple precinct. Their relatively intact state of preservation allows royal burials to be studied together with their grave goods.

  • 2Gold mask of Psusennes I

    It is a funerary mask depicting the ruler with a nemes headdress and a protective cobra symbol. It is a tangible example of the representation of royal identity after death and of gold craftsmanship.

  • 3Amon temple

    It is a temple precinct defined by a large mudbrick enclosure wall. It shows the spatial relationship between Tanis's religious buildings and the royal cemetery.

  • 4Reused stones and statues

    Building materials and statues brought from older centers were reused in the city. They show that the date when artifacts were produced may differ from the date when they were used at Tanis.

  • 5Ushabtis of Şeşonk III

    225 funerary figurines belonging to Şeşonk III were found in the tomb of Osorkon II. Their possible association with the nearby uninscribed sarcophagus has reopened discussion of the tomb's history of use.

What does it point to?

The tombs and gold mask show that the rulers of Tanis devoted significant resources to funerary equipment. According to researchers, the figurines of Şeşonk III may suggest the use of the same tomb in connection with different rulers or the later transfer of funerary objects.

What did it teach us?

  1. Documented that royal burials were arranged within the temple enclosure.
  2. Showed that ancient objects could be transported from other cities and used in new buildings.
  3. The newly discovered figurines raised the possibility of associating an uninscribed sarcophagus with Şeşonk III; this interpretation has not been confirmed.

Images

Neues Reich. Dynastie XIX. a - c. Statue in Alexandrien (Alexandria); d. Obelisk von San (
Scan by NYPL · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
TANIS STATUES
me … hesham farouk ragab · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Latest news / selected archive

In 2025, the discovery of 225 faience ushabtis bearing the name of Shoshenq III near a sarcophagus in the tomb of Osorkon II was announced.

Record

Culture
Ancient Egyptian; Greco-Roman
Team / historical
French Archaeological Mission at Tanis, Frédéric Payraudeau
Coordinates
30.9769°, 31.8800°

Sources

  1. ephe.psl.eu
  2. egyptartefacts.griffith.ox.ac.uk
  3. en.wikipedia.org
  4. Kahire Mısır Müzesi — Funerary mask of King Psusennes I
  5. Mısır Devlet Enformasyon Servisi — Tanis'te kraliyet uşabtileri keşfi

Nearby excavations


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12.000

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