While the legendary biblical patriarch Joseph, whom the Book of Genesis describes becoming a vizier to the Pharaoh of Egypt, apparently "made the children of Israel swear that when they left the land of Egypt they would take his bones with them to the Promised Land", and while there actually is a funerary monument known as Joseph's Tomb located in the West Bank, it seems that his actual resting place may be located in a different place, the Daily Express reports.
Citing a 2019 documentary called "Patterns of Evidence", the newspaper points at the discovery of a “grand palace” in the eastern Delta of the Nile, which was apparently built on top of a house that was common to the Northern Syria from which Joseph's ancestors hailed.
"When somebody gets a palace like this given to them, it means they are being honoured for what they’ve done for the state", Egyptologist Dr David Rohl said, arguing that the occupant of said palace wasn't Egyptian. "In the garden, behind the palace, the archaeologists found 12 main graves, with memorial chapels on top of them. Think about it, how many sons did Jacob have? How many tribes were there? 12. What’s also amazing is the palace had a facade, a portico with 12 pillars, so you’ve got 12 sons, 12 tribes, 12 pillars and 12 tombs."
Presenter Tim Mahoney also pointed out that one of the graves was actually a pyramid tomb, which suggests that the person interred within was granted “a King's burial”.
"Inside the chapel of the tomb was a statue, what we know from the statue is that this man had red hair, he had pale yellow skin, he had a throwing stick across his shoulder and on the back of his shoulder, we see the faintest remains of paint – coloured stripes from a multicoloured coat", he added.
This description led Dr Rohl to postulate that the tomb belonged to none other than Joseph, because it matches his story in the Bible.
"The multicoloured coat was a gift which shows that he was the favourite of the Father. It almost becomes his insignia, this coat, it’s the thing we remember about him most of all, there is nothing else like this in the whole of Egyptian history", he mused.
His sentiment was also echoed by Egyptologist, Charles Aling, who suggested that the examining the fragments of the statue allow one to identify the nationality of the tomb's owner.
"Three things, the hairstyle he has, which we often call the mushroom hairstyle, the weapon he carries over his shoulder – a throwing stick – and the colouration of the skin, it’s yellow", he said. "All those things indicate that this would have been a Cyril Palestinian, either it is Joseph, or it’s somebody who has a career remarkably similar to him, it’s an incredible find."
