Professor Robert Littman, of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, and I uncovered evidence of the civil war at Tell Timai—the ruins of the ancient city of Thmouis in Egypt’s Nile delta. We published our research in the Journal of Field Archaeology. The archaeological evidence has revealed widespread destruction from the time of the rebellion, 204-186BC.
In 2009, evidence of burned buildings with ceramic vessels still in place first suggested that there had been a catastrophic event at Tell Timai. The destruction was widespread and followed by a leveling and rebuilding of the ruined city. Over the following years, evidence including weapons and unburied bodies that graphically pointed to an episode of extreme violence accumulated.
One of the bodies had old wounds (suggesting he had been a warrior) and unhealed wounds (suggesting he had died violently). A young man was found in a kiln, suggesting he had crawled in there to hide and perhaps died of his wounds.
