In 640 C.E., Per-Medjed fell into a decline after Arab occupation of the area. When Alexander arrived, the city became home to large numbers of Greek colonists and enjoyed a close relationship with Alexandria. The city connected caravan routes from the west to a port on the Bahr Yussef waterway, allowing the flow of people and goods to the Mediterranean Sea. Located about 140 miles south of Cairo at the site of the modern town of El Bahnasa, it was an important Egyptian hub during the Saite dynasty, according to the University of Barcelona’s website. Prior to the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.E., Oxyrhynchus was known as Per-Medjed.
The tombs date to the Saite dynasty, a period that lasted from about 664 to 332 B.C.E.
