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 back to the Roman era while digging at the ancient temple in Berenice.”
The discovery suggests there was a prevalence of trade relations between Egypt and India during the Roman era, according to Mostafa al-Waziri, the head 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 flower by his side and a halo around his head.
According to Waziri, Berenice was one of the major seaports in Roman-era ancient Egypt, and ships from India frequently sailed there carrying spices, semiprecious stones, linens, and ivory.
Egypt has made a number of significant archaeological finds in recent years as part of efforts to resurrect its key tourism economy, this after years of political upheaval and the Covid outbreak.
Critics assert that the surge of excavations has prioritized media-worthy discoveries over rigorous scholarly investigation.
The Grand Egyptian Museum which sits at the base of the Giza pyramids has not yet had it’s inaugural opening. It was to be the crown jewel in the government’s plans for the future.
By 2028, the government hopes to increase the number of tourists it receives annually from the 13 million it had before the pandemic to 30 million tourists.
