Mysterious discoveries in the Middle Ages

A tomb dating back 900 years to store 7 mummies has been unearthed at Old Dongola in Sudan, with many mysterious details.

Old Dongola was the ancient capital of the medieval kingdom of Makuria, once flourishing in the Nile Delta. This dynasty collapsed in 1171 AD, with the Ayyubid dynasty controlling Egypt and then launching a campaign to capture northern Makuria.

One of the newly discovered mummies is believed to be Archbishop Georgios - one of Makuria's most powerful religious leaders. The epitaph about him was also found nearby, saying that he died in 1113 AD.

Mummies and texts on the walls of the tomb.(Photo: Photo courtesy Wlodzimierz Godlewsk)

The most special thing in this new discovery is the inscriptions written in the tomb walls, written in black ink on a thin layer of white paint, in Greek and ancient Egyptian (Coptic Sahidic). The inscriptions include excerpts from the gospels of Luke, John and Matthew - mysterious names; along with the symbols and a prayer of the Virgin Mary. According to the epitaph, after Mary's death, she went to Heaven with Jesus. These words are written by the person named 'Ioannes ', based on the signature on the tomb walls.

Archaeologist Robert Mahler of Poland involved in the excavation process said: "7 mummies inside the cellar are older men, all over 40. The burial cap seems to have been sealed after being buried. Take the last person, with the materials being red bricks and mortar . " The costumes of these mummies are largely untouched, but Barbara Czaja-Szewczak, a textile expert, estimates that these people simply dressed after death, mainly linen.

The tomb was first discovered in 1993, by a Polish mission to Dongola, headed by Director Stefan Jakobielski. However, it was not until 2009 that the excavation was carried out. In this process, the mummies are transferred out to study; The tunnel walls are cleaned, with text lines taken for detailed study. Discovery efforts are still ongoing, complete data on these engravings are expected to be published in a book published next time.