Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered 18 previously unknown tombs at the coastal site of Marina El Alamein, bringing the total number of graves discovered there since 1986 to 44. Eleven of the new tombs are rock-cut hypogea reaching an average depth of eight metres, while seven are above-ground limestone structures. Several burial chambers were found with their original stone slab seals intact, and a 2.5-metre granite sarcophagus still had its lid in place. Inside, excavators recovered 24 gold tongue amulets—placed in the mouths of the deceased to enable speech in the afterlife—alongside a gold Eye of Horus, a limestone offering altar carved with a false door, and an unfinished marble statue believed to depict Aphrodite. The finds, dating from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, confirm the enduring influence of pharaonic funerary traditions in this Hellenistic port city, identified as ancient Leukaspis.

In northeastern France, a separate discovery has recast understanding of late Roman household finance. During pre-construction work in the village of Senon, archaeologists from INRAP unearthed three large ceramic amphorae containing more than 40,000 bronze coins. The vessels, buried between AD 280 and 310, were not hidden in haste but placed empty in carefully prepared pits and filled over time, functioning as a long-term domestic savings system. Numismatists note that the coins bear the portraits of Gallic Empire rulers Victorinus, Tetricus I and Tetricus II, reflecting the region’s breakaway from central Roman authority. The hoard, now state property, is undergoing cleaning and analysis, with researchers treating it as a rare snapshot of managed household liquidity rather than an emergency cache.

Off the Calabrian coast, a routine seabed survey for an offshore wind farm has revealed a shipwreck carrying over 300 clay amphorae of Greek wine, undisturbed for roughly 2,400 years. The vessel sank around 375 BC near the ancient city of Kaulon, shortly after the settlement was sacked by the Syracusan tyrant Dionysios I. Italian cultural authorities, who kept the find secret to deter looting, now plan to raise the amphorae and analyse any organic residues. The cargo offers a direct window into the wine trade of Magna Graecia and, if sealed containers survive, could yield data on ancient viticulture and maritime routes.

Further south, in Egypt’s Western Desert, a mission in the Dakhla Oasis has exposed a well-preserved Byzantine settlement built of mudbrick. The fourth-century town, part of the Ain al-Sabil complex, features a grid of streets, public squares, residential quarters, a basilica-style church and defensive works. Around 200 ostraca inscribed in Coptic and Greek, together with bronze and gold coins—some minted under Emperor Constantius II—point to an organised administrative and commercial hub deep in the desert. Egyptian authorities are considering a nomination for UNESCO World Heritage status.

Across these sites, the next phase of work will focus on laboratory analysis: osteological study of the skeletal remains from the granite sarcophagus, numismatic cataloguing of the Senon hoard, and residue extraction from the wine amphorae. The Dakhla settlement will undergo further excavation to map its full extent, while Marina El Alamein’s newly revealed architectural extensions promise to refine the urban portrait of a Mediterranean emporium.