This article is from Ancient Egypt issue 150
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A mud-brick building dating to the 6th to 7th centuries AD has been found by an Egyptian mission at Minqab in Asyut. The two-storey building, which was clad in white mortar, contained a number of Coptic-era murals. One of these is thought to depict the biblical Joseph holding the child Jesus, with images of the disciples on either side; another has a face surrounded by a repeated pattern of eyes. The team also discovered a tombstone inscribed with the name of a Coptic saint. Photographs of the murals have yet to be released. Other finds included multi-use pottery vessels and amphorae of different sizes, some bearing Coptic writing, and a fragment of a frieze decorated with the images of a lion and a gazelle.
Text: Sarah Griffiths / All images: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
