After two years of intense archaeological work, the wait is over. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, represented by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has successfully completed the ambitious Revival of the Ancient Gold City project, an unprecedented initiative that has led to the discovery, documentation, and conservation of a gold mining camp with over three thousand years of history.
This site, located in the Sakari Mountain area, southwest of Marsa Alam in the Red Sea province, has been rescued thanks to the collaboration between archaeological authorities and the administration of the current Sakari gold mine, thus ensuring the protection of Egypt’s invaluable historical heritage from contemporary mining activities.
The project has involved a series of extensive archaeological excavations, accompanied by documentation, restoration, and relocation of architecturally significant elements. The structures found have been relocated to a safe site, three kilometers north of the original location, moving them away from modern mining activity currently taking place in the area. This effort has required the application of rigorous administrative and legal procedures, including approval by the Permanent Committee of Egyptian Antiquities.
The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Mr. Sherif Fathy, has expressed his enthusiasm for this remarkable discovery, emphasizing the importance of this project in preserving Egypt’s historical legacy. He highlighted that this finding not only provides crucial data on the techniques used in gold mining in antiquity, but also enriches the understanding of daily life in an industrial city in the Eastern Desert throughout different historical periods.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, detailed that the excavations have unearthed a perfectly structured mining camp dating back more than three thousand years. At this site, remains of a complex gold processing system have been identified, including specialized factories for extracting the precious metal from quartz veins.
The evidence found reveals a meticulous process that involved crushing and grinding the quartz, filtering and sedimentation in special basins, and finally, smelting in clay furnaces to obtain pure gold.
In addition to the mining infrastructure, the excavations have revealed remnants of the daily lives of ancient miners. Among the findings are dwellings, workshops, ore processing areas, temples dedicated to religious worship, administrative buildings, and Ptolemaic baths. Architectural elements have also been identified, indicating the site’s continued use in later periods, including remains from the Roman and Islamic eras.
One of the most fascinating discoveries is a collection of 628 ostraca (fragments of pottery or stone with inscriptions), featuring texts in hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek, reflecting the linguistic and cultural diversity of the time. Additionally, bronze coins from the Ptolemaic dynasty have been found, along with an impressive number of terracotta figurines depicting human and animal representations from the Greco-Roman period and small stone sculptures, some unfinished, of deities such as Bastet and Harpocrates.
Also discovered were five offering tables from the Ptolemaic era, along with a varied collection of ceramic vessels of different sizes and shapes, used for daily life, perfumes, medicines, and incense, as well as ornaments made of precious stones and seashells.
Dr. Khaled emphasized that this discovery is essential for understanding the advanced gold extraction techniques used by the ancient Egyptians and for reconstructing the social, religious, and economic structure of the mining communities that inhabited the Eastern Desert throughout history. These findings confirm Egypt’s significance as a gold production center since Pharaonic times, further reinforcing the country’s historical and archaeological importance.
Meanwhile, Professor Mohamed Abdel-Badea, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Department of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has highlighted the efforts made to document and preserve these architectural remains. As part of the project, a replica of the mining camp has been created in a six-acre area, where the main discovered structures have been reconstructed.
Additionally, a modern visitor center has been built, equipped with high-definition screens displaying detailed images of the excavation process and the most significant findings. Complementing this are informational panels narrating the site’s history and its importance within the context of gold mining in Egypt.
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