Byzantine gold hoard found near Abusir
Egypt, Local, 4/1/2004

The Hungarian team working in Abusir, 45 kilometers west of Alexandria, has uncovered a gold cache including five gold coins and a bracelet dating back to the Byzantine age (4th century AD).

The items were unearthed in the area of Tap Osiris, Which is an ancient site built on the shores of Mariut Lake.

Dr. Zahi Hawas, head of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, said that Tap Osiris was originally a city where the goddess Isis was worshipped.

It included a temple, which was converted into a military fortress in the Roman age.

Dr. Hawas said that two of the coins date back to the period of the Byzantine emperor Tiberius II, who ruled from 13 August to 22 November 582 AD.

Two other coins bear the head of emperor Phocas who ruled from 602 to 610 AD, while another bears that of the emperor Heraclius who ruled from 610 to 641 AD.

As for the bracelet it has nine intersecting patterns. All the items came from Constantinople, said Dr. Hawas.

He said that the excavation team had also found remains of a black granite statue of Isis, whose head was found three years earlier on the ground at the old temple of Isis.

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