GabyThe most amazing thing is that the city found on the banks of the Nile was hidden in a tourist and archaeological area. That is, a place that is heavily visited and researched. The Egyptian archaeological mission made this rare discovery not far from the famous Valley of the Queens and the Valley of the Kings, legendary temples, and the Luxor Museum of Antiquities.
More precisely, researchers have excavated a city from the ancient Roman period in the area of Beit-Yas Andraos. It adjoins the eastern part of the Luxor Temple, reports Science Alert .
According to Mostafa Waziri, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, the city was built in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. He noted that this “completely preserved city is the oldest and most important” in the region.
What did the archaeologists find?
Researchers have discovered a number of residential buildings, two pigeon towers where postal birds were bred in ancient times, as well as craft workshops, including those for metalworking. In the workshops, the researchers came across numerous pots, water bottles, flasks, grinding tools, and also bronze and copper Roman coins. Additionally, during the excavations, archaeologists found family burials from the time of the Thirteenth Dynasty of the pharaohs of the Second Intermediate Period. This dynasty originated from the city of Thebes, which was once located in this area.
The last few years have been rich in discoveries for Egyptian archaeologists. In April 2021, it was announced that excavations in western Luxor had uncovered a 3,000-year-old lost “golden” city. This is the largest ancient city ever discovered in Egypt.
It, along with the numerous sarcophagi found, sparked considerable interest from the media and the entire Egyptian society. The discoveries provided a significant boost to the revival of the vital tourism sector, which had deteriorated after prolonged political unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to government plans, archaeological finds and the upcoming opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum at the foot of the pyramids in Giza are expected to attract 30 million tourists a year. (For comparison, before the coronavirus pandemic, Egypt was visited by 13 million guests annually). In a country with a population of 104 million citizens, suffering from an economic crisis, the tourism sector accounts for 10 percent of GDP. About two million people are employed in it.
