Egyptian archaeologists identified a complete and previously unknown copy of the Canopus Decree, a royal edict issued by King Ptolemy III Euergetes, dating back to 238 BCE.
The decree was issued as part of a convocation of high priests in the ancient city Canopus, from which the name is derived, present-day Abu Qir, nearby Alexandria, Egypt. It sanctified the king, his wife, Berenice II, and their daughter, and also outlined religious reforms and royal donations across Egypt. The decree was subsequently disseminated in displays in major temples across the country.
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The Egyptian mission affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities made the discovery at the Tell El-Fara’in archaeological site in the city of El-Husseiniya, located in Egypt’s Sharqia Governorate. Imet, as it was known or present-day Tell El-Fara’in, was a major urban center in the Nile Delta, particularly during the Ptolemaic Period.
The sandstone stela is 50 inches tall, 33 inches wide, and 19 inches deep. It has a rounded top, featuring a winged sun disk surrounded by two uraei or royal cobras wearing Egypt’s dual crowns in white and red for Upper and Lower Egypt, respectively. The inscription “Di Ankh” or “He who gives life” is written between them, with the decree inscribed below in hieroglyphs across 30 lines.
Of the six previously discovered versions of the decree, some were trilingual in hieroglyphics, demotics, and Greek inscriptions, and most were incomplete. This hieroglyphic iteration may provide further insight into ancient Egyptian linguistics, as well as social, political, and religious structures.
The decree also contains information such as tax relief policies and a leap-year system. In light of the deification of the royal family, they received a new priestly title and religious festival.
“The achievements of Egyptian archaeological missions continue to shed new light on our remarkable civilization. This discovery underscores the immense archaeological value of Sharqia Governorate, a region still yielding secrets that astonish the world,” Sherif Fathy, the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, told Egypt Daily News.
This is not the first notable finding, with monumental temples and residential buildings found during previous excavations at the site.