UK archaeologists uncover 2,400 year-old Egyptian city that worshipped cobra goddess

UK archaeologists have undiscovered a 2,400 year-old Egyptian metropolis who worshipped a cobra goddess - thanks to state-of-the-art satellite imagery. The 'rediscovery' of the ancient city of Imet, in Egypt's eastern Nile Delta, uncovered multi-storey dwellings, granaries and a ceremonial road tied to the worship of the snake deity Wadjet, has been hailed a landmark historical find.

The excavations at what is now Tell Nebesha are part of a joint Egyptian-British mission with the University of Sadat City in Cairo directed by Dr Nicky Nielsen of The University of Manchester. By combining remote sensing with on-the-ground archaeology and high-resolution satellite imagery, they identified clusters of ancient mudbricks prior to excavation. An image if Wadjet appears on the famous golden mask of child pharoah Tutankhamun.

The team is now beginning to transform the world's understanding of the urban, religious and economic life of this city in the Nile Delta during the 4th century BC.

They uncovered dense architectural remains, including substantial tower houses - multi-storey buildings supported by exceptionally thick foundation walls, designed to accommodate a growing population in an increasingly urbanised Delta.

Thrilled Dr Nielsen said: "These tower houses are mainly found in the Nile Delta between the Late Period and the Roman era, and are rare elsewhere in Egypt.

"Their presence here shows that Imet was a thriving and densely-built city with a complex urban infrastructure."

Additional discoveries include a paved area for grain processing and animal enclosures, pointing to an active local economy alongside its religious significance.

Elsewhere, excavators found a large building with a limestone plaster floor and massive pillars dating to the mid-Ptolemaic Period.

This building was built across the processional road which once connected to the temple of Wadjet - the city's patron deity of a cobra goddess.

Wadjet was said to be the matron and protector of Lower Egypt in her cobra form, and upon unification with her sister Nekhbet, Goddess of Upper Egypt, the joint protector and patron of all of Egypt.

Scenes of the two sisters together as two cobras can be found in King Sety I's tomb, located in the Valley of the Kings.

Wadjet was worshipped in the area as the 'Lady of Imet'. Later she was joined by Min and Horus to form a triad of deities. This was based on an Osiriac model identified elsewhere in Egypt.

The ceremonial temple road route appears to have fallen out of use by the mid-Ptolemaic period, offering insight into shifting religious landscapes in ancient Egypt.

But exciting ancient artefacts from the site reflect a vibrant spiritual culture.

Some highlights include a green faience ushabti from the 26th Dynasty - ushabti were buried in large numbers in Egyptian graves believed to ensure the resurrection of the body with which they were placed. Faience is a non-clay ceramic material.

Other finds include a stela (upright stone slab) of the god Horus standing on crocodiles, holding serpents, topped by the god Bes - as well as a bronze sistrum (a rattle to scare off evil spirits) adorned with the twin heads of Hathor, goddess of music and joy.

In the temple area, the archaeologists uncovered a large limestone platform and the remains of two colossal columns made of mudbrick, which "may have been covered with plaster."

It is believed that these remains belong to a building erected over the processional way that connected the Late Period temple precinct and the Wadjet temple precinct. This suggests that the processional way went out of service by the middle of the Ptolemaic Period.

The temple of Wadjet was rebuilt by Ramses II (1279 - 1213 BCE) and later by Pharaoh Amasis II (570 - 526 BCE), serving as a religious centre of great importance in the Delta.

Additionally, the team found other buildings that were used for service purposes such as storing grains or housing animals.

Next to these, they discovered auxiliary buildings for grain storage and animal protection, indicating that Imet was an active urban centre whose economy was based on agriculture and trade.

Dr Nielsen explained that the city of Imet was one of "the most prominent residential centres in Lower Egypt, especially during the New Kingdom and the Late Period," distinguished by a huge temple dedicated to Wadjet.

Dr Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Egypt's Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the discoveries of tower-shaped houses are a characteristic architectural style of Lower Egypt between the Late Period (664 - 332 BCE) and the Roman conquest.

Dr Khaled added: "These houses, with multiple floors and unusually sturdy foundations, were designed to be inhabited by a large number of people."

The University of Manchester's involvement continues to shape global narratives of Egypt's forgotten cities, bringing the ancient Delta back into view one discovery at a time.

In addition to Dr Nicky Nielsen, the excavation team comprised Dr Hamada Hussein (University of Sadat City), Dr Diana T. Nikolova (University of Liverpool), Matei Tichindelean (UCLA), Kylie Thomsen (UCLA), Omar Farouk, Jamal el-Sharkawy, Ahmed Fahim and Ali Bashir.

The Egyptian authorities hope that future missions at Tell al-Faraon will bring to light more information about the historical site, the earliest layers of which may date back to times earlier than previously known.

Dr Hussein Abdel-Basir, Egyptologist and Director of the Museum of Antiquities of the Library of Alexandria, said: "Restoring the importance of the Delta in the course of ancient Egyptian civilization confirms the necessity of intensifying excavations and studies in these promising areas."