An ancient Buddha statue found in Egypt’s Red Sea port city of Berenice has provided new information on Roman-era commercial relations with India.
According to a statement from the antiquities ministry on Wednesday, a Polish-US expedition uncovered the statue “dating to the Roman era while digging at the ancient temple in Berenice.”
The discovery has “significant indications over the presence of trade ties between Egypt and India during the Roman era,” according to Mostafa al-Waziri, the president of Egypt’s supreme antiquities council.
The statue, which is 71 centimeters (28 inches) tall and is missing its right leg and a portion of its right side, depicts Buddha with a lotus blossom at his side and a halo around his head.
According to Waziri, Berenice was one of the major seaports in ancient Egypt, and ships from India often sailed there carrying spices, semiprecious stones, linens, and ivory.
Following years of political upheaval and the Covid outbreak, Egypt has made a number of significant archaeological finds in recent years as part of efforts to resurrect its key tourist economy.
Critics assert that the surge of excavations has prioritized media-worthy discoveries above rigorous scholarly investigation.
The Grand Egyptian Museum’s long-delayed opening at the base of the Giza pyramids is the government’s grandest undertaking.
By 2028, the government hopes to double the number of visitors it receives annually from the 13 million it had before the epidemic.
