CAIRO An archaeological mission from the Egypt a complete residential town from the discovered Roman Empire during excavation work on the east bank of the Nilo River, in the historic city of Luxor, in the south of the country. The discovery dates back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries, at the beginning of the Christian era, according to a statement from Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Tuesday.
Metallurgical workshops with various paraphernalia and Roman copper and bronze coins have been discovered in the socalled “extension of Thebes,” the ancient capital of ancient Egypt, according to Mostafa Waziri, secretarygeneral of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt. According to him, excavations continue at the site near Luxor Temple and about 500 kilometers south of Cairo. “They (excavations) may reveal more secrets of this city.”
Waziri explained that during the excavations, the mission found several dwellings and two dovecotes from the 2nd and 3rd centuries, as well as several metallurgical and foundry workshops with vases, water bottles, jugs, ceramic lamps and grinders.
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Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Antiquities Council, shows some of the objects found during the excavations at Luxor Photo: Photo by Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities / AFP 01/24/2023
According to Fathi Yasin, Director General of Antiquities of Upper Egypt, ceramic vases were found in the dovecotes, which served as a nest for pigeons, which according to preliminary studies were used as early as Roman times.
It is a rare archaeological find in Egypt, where excavations, particularly at the site in Luxor where the famous Valley of the Queens and Valley of the Kings are located, most often involve temples and tombs.
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A complete residential city from the Roman Empire was found during excavations by a team of Egyptian archaeologists in Luxor.
In April 2021, authorities announced the discovery of a 3,000yearold “lost golden city” also in Luxor, which the archaeological team called the largest ancient city ever discovered in Egypt.
In recent months, the African country has unveiled a number of important discoveries to the world, mainly at the Saqqara necropolis, south of Cairo. This Thursday, the 26th, the country announced the discovery of four tombs of pharaohs and a mummy over 4,000 years old found at this archaeological site known for the famous Pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser, one of the oldest monuments of humanity.
The four tombs are dated to the fifth and sixth dynasties of Egypt between 2500 and 2100 BC. attributed. Archaeologist Zahi Hawass stated that Khnumdjedef, the high priest of Pharaoh Unas, whose pyramid is in the same region, was buried there.
During excavations at a depth of 15 meters, the archaeologists also found a limestone sarcophagus in a state of preservation “exactly” that of “4,300 years ago,” reported Hawass. When they opened it, they found a mummy covered in gold. “One of the oldest and best preserved,” said the archaeologist.
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Archaeologists and assistants work on excavations near the pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser in Saqqara Photo: Amr Nabil/AP 01/26/2023
The necropolis of Saqqara, located south of the famous Pyramids of Giza, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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In January, Egypt also announced that a tomb had been found at Luxor that likely belonged to an 18th dynasty royal woman, that of Akhenaten and Tutankhamen, dating back 3,500 years. For some experts, however, this statement is more political and economic than scientific.
The country with 104 million inhabitants is in a severe economic crisis, especially after the crisis Covid19 pandemic, and relies on ads like this to reactivate tourism. The government aims to attract 30 million visitors annually by 2028, compared to the 13 million who traveled to the country before the pandemic.
Tourism in Egypt, which employs 2 million people and is responsible for more than 10% of the country’s gross domestic product, has continued to decline since then Arabic springin 2011./AFP and EFE
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