A team of Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed an ancient city estimated to be more than 5,000 years old. The city, which is located next to the Nile River near the Temple of Seti the First in Abydos, features huts, tools, pottery, and huge graves, according to the BBC.
Archaeologists discovered 15 massive graves that indicate the high social standing of those buried in them. It’s believed that the city was home to important officials and tomb builders who lived during early ancient Egyptian times.
“About a mile behind where this material is said to be, we have the necropolis, with royal tombs going from fore history to the period where we start getting royal names, we start getting identifiable kings,” Chris Eyre, an Egyptologist at the University of Liverpool in England explained.
“So, this appears to be the town, the capital at the very beginning of Egyptian history.”
The city is located in the southern province of Sohag, which is home to other major tourist attractions, including the city of Luxor.
Tourism Attraction
Egyptian officials hope the discovery, which was made by members of the country’s Antiquities Ministry, will play a major role in boosting tourism, which has dropped to record levels since the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
Earlier this year, a group of archaeologists discovered Heracleion, another ancient Egyptian city in Abukir Bay that dates back to the 12th century.
Heracleion’s ruins were discovered by French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio in 2000, allowing the current generation to have a little peek into the city’s glorious past.
Historians say the city was once a thriving business hub and served as an obligatory port of entry into Egypt for all ships coming from Greece.
Egypt is believed to be one of world’s first civilizations with a rich history that has marveled historians for thousands of years.
Much of the country’s history was a mystery until the secrets of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs were deciphered with the discovery and help of the Rosetta Stone, which is believed to have been created in 196 B.C.
