“Cairo Cemetery Unearths 1000-Year-Old Tombstone”

A group of independent Egyptian heritage researchers have made a remarkable discovery in the ruins of an ancient cemetery in Cairo. The researchers found an over 1000-year-old tombstone inscribed with ancient Kufic script. The tombstone belonged to a woman named Umamah bint Muhammad bin Yahya bin Khalid, who died in the month of Dhul Hijjah in the Hijri year 221 or 229. The tombstone was discovered amid the widespread demolition of several areas of the Imam Al-Shafi’i cemetery. Mustafa Al-Sadiq, a heritage researcher who was accompanied by a number of other people, announced the discovery. He published pictures of the tombstone and said that it was handed over to the Ministry of Antiquities. Tombstones in historic Cairo are documents of information and dates for important areas and people, as they contain names, dates of death, and sometimes birth. The Imam Al-Shafi’i cemetery, east of Cairo, in the valley of Mokattam Mountain, is part of the urban fabric of the historic city.