GabyWhat’s surprising is that the city, found on the banks of the Nile, was hidden in a heavily visited tourist and archaeological area. Egyptian archaeologists made the rare discovery not far from the Valley of the Queens and the Valley of the Kings, several famous temples, and the Luxor Museum of Antiquities.
More precisely, researchers have excavated a Roman-period city in the Beit-Yas Andraos area. 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 dates to the 2nd–3rd centuries AD. He called it a “completely preserved” city and said it is the oldest and most important in the region.
What did the archaeologists find?
Researchers have uncovered a number of homes, two pigeon towers where carrier pigeons were kept, and craft workshops — including metalworking shops. In those workshops, they found numerous pots, water bottles, flasks, grinding tools, and bronze and copper Roman coins. Archaeologists also uncovered family burials dating to the Thirteenth Dynasty of the Second Intermediate Period. That dynasty originated in the city of Thebes, which once stood in this area.
The last few years have delivered a string of discoveries for Egyptian archaeologists. In April 2021, excavations in western Luxor revealed a 3,000-year-old lost “golden” city — the largest ancient city ever found in Egypt.
That find, along with numerous sarcophagi, grabbed extensive media attention and captured the public’s imagination in Egypt. The discoveries have given a significant boost to the country’s vital tourism sector, which had suffered after prolonged political unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Government plans expect archaeological finds and the upcoming opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum at the foot of the Giza pyramids to attract 30 million tourists a year. For comparison, before the coronavirus pandemic Egypt received about 13 million visitors annually. In a country of 104 million people facing an economic crisis, tourism accounts for roughly 10 percent of GDP and employs about two million people.
