Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
In a landmark archaeological discovery, an Egyptian mission affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities has unearthed a complete and previously unknown copy of the Canopus Decree, dating back to 238 BCE. The discovery was made at the Tell El-Fara’in archaeological site in the city of El-Husseiniya, located in Egypt’s Sharqia Governorate. This decree, originally issued by King Ptolemy III Euergetes, is one of the most significant royal edicts of the Ptolemaic period and was intended to honor the king, his wife Berenice II, and their daughter.
The Canopus Decree was first issued during a grand convocation of high priests in the ancient city of Canopus (modern-day Abu Qir, near Alexandria). It not only sanctified the royal family but also outlined religious reforms and royal benefactions across Egypt. Copies of the decree were ordered to be distributed and displayed in major temples throughout the country. However, no entirely new and complete copy had been discovered in over 150 years until now.
The newly uncovered stela is made of sandstone, with a rounded top and impressive dimensions: 127.5 cm in height, 83 cm in width, and approximately 48 cm thick. The top of the stela features a winged sun disk flanked by two uraei (royal cobras), each bearing one of Egypt’s dual crowns white for Upper Egypt and red for Lower Egypt. Between them is the inscription “Di Ankh” (He who gives life). Below this symbolic design, the decree is inscribed across 30 lines written exclusively in hieroglyphs.
This is a particularly notable feature, as earlier versions of the decree were trilingual written in hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek scripts. The exclusively hieroglyphic nature of this newly discovered version may provide scholars with fresh insights into ancient Egyptian linguistics and the religious and political context of the Ptolemaic era.
Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, emphasized the importance of the discovery. He described it as a valuable addition to the limited collection of known Canopus Decree copies only six had been found previously, some incomplete. Sites like Kom El-Hisn, San El-Hagar, and Tell Basta have yielded fragments or partial versions. In contrast, the newly discovered stela at Tell El-Fara’in appears to be fully intact and offers a high degree of preservation.
The decree itself is rich in historical content. It details royal donations to temples, tax relief policies during times of low Nile inundation, and the establishment of a leap-year system (adding an extra day every four years). It also includes decrees to deify the royal family, especially King Ptolemy III and Queen Berenice, referred to as “the Beneficent Gods.” The text records the institution of a new priestly title in their honor, a religious festival marking the heliacal rising of the star Sirius (Sopdet), and further religious innovations.
Commenting on the find, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, hailed it as a major contribution to the ongoing rediscovery of Egypt’s ancient heritage. “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,” he said.
Mohamed Abdel-Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, noted that the stela’s craftsmanship is of moderate quality but retains clear and legible inscriptions that are invaluable to scholars.
Dr. Hisham Hussein, Director of the Central Department for Lower Egypt, added that the text reflects an extraordinary level of administrative and religious organization under Ptolemaic rule, combining elements of Egyptian tradition with Hellenistic innovation.
Tell El-Fara’in, known in antiquity as Imet, was a significant urban center in the Nile Delta, especially during the Middle Kingdom and later in the Ptolemaic period. Previous excavations at the site have revealed monumental temples and luxurious residential buildings, including one dedicated to the cobra goddess Wadjet, protector of Lower Egypt.
This latest discovery not only enriches the corpus of Ptolemaic decrees but also contributes to a deeper understanding of how royal ideology, religious policy, and linguistic expression evolved during one of Egypt’s most cosmopolitan and complex historical periods.
