Il sarcofago fenicio di Tell el-Maskhuta

The eastern fringe of the Egyptian Delta (the Pelusiac Branch and the Wadi Tumilat) is a very important crossroad between Mediterranean world and Africa, therefore between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea. Historical and archaeological sources underline the importance of this region for trade and cultural exchanges. Caravan routes and waterways have crossed each other in this area for millennia. An artificial channel was dug in antiquity (Saitic dynasty and Persian time) along the Wadi Tumilat, to link the Nile Valley and the Red Sea. Tell el-Maskhuta is an important archaeological site along the Wadi. It was the door-lock of this important route between Egypt and the Levant and it began an international city. The Sidonian coffin found in Tell el-Maskhuta, with its hieroglyphic inscription, is an interesting evidence of the Phoenician presence in Egypt and the cultural exchanges.