An exceptional discovery for the site and for the preservation of the remains. A 1,800 year old Roman city is located in Luxor, the Thebes of the pharaohs, about 500 km south of Cairo. According to Egyptian archaeologists, it is “an entire residential city found intact” on the east bank of the Nile. The settlement dates from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD and is the “oldest and most important city in eastern Luxor”. Mostafa WaziriChairman of the Supreme Antiquities Council of Egypt.
The archaeological team uncovered a number of dwellings, as well as two pigeon towers that housed returning birds and metal workshops, Waziri said. In the workshops there was a treasure of vases, tools made of bronze and copper from Roman blacksmithing. Most archaeological work at Luxor has focused on temples and tombs, so the city is a somewhat unusual find. This year alone, 60 mummies and a new royal tomb have already been discovered in Luxor.
كشفت ا ا fightchi أثرية Fightchi برئاسة ع عام ل hiki مج qui ا ϕ andhi عن مدينة سكنية ك ك ا ا ا أعم ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا ا. pic.twitter.com/e2anQqTvKC
— Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (@TourismandAntiq) January 25, 2023
Luxor is also home to the Valley of the Kings and Queens, where numerous tombs have been carved out of the rock. Egypt’s focus on promoting discoveries like those at Luxor is part of a larger effort to revive tourism in the country after years of political turmoil and the Covid-19 pandemic. The country’s tourism industry accounts for about two million jobs and 10% of the gross domestic product. Meanwhile, the country is expected to open the long-awaited later this year Great Egyptian Museuma new institution in Cairo that will house many archaeological treasures.
Photo by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities