In Egypt, on the Red Sea coast, near the city of Marsa Alam, archaeologists have found an ancient gold mining and processing complex.
The discovery allowed researchers to better understand how the Egyptians mined the precious metal 3,000 years ago, as well as learn more about the lives of miners of that time.
The complex was discovered in the area of the Jabal Sukari mountain during restoration work. Archaeologists spent two years excavating and studying the ancient buildings, and then moved them to a safe place three kilometers from the original location – this was necessary to protect the monument from modern mining operations.
According to the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt Mohamed Ismail Khaled, the complex included stations for grinding and crushing ore, settling and filtration pools, as well as clay furnaces where gold extracted from quartz veins was smelted. Residential areas, workshops, administrative buildings, religious buildings and baths dating back to the Ptolemaic era were also discovered.
Architectural finds from the Roman and Islamic periods indicate that the site was used for centuries. Among the artefacts, archaeologists found figurines of the Egyptian goddess Bastet and the ancient Greek god Harpocrates, as well as incense, medicines, semi-precious stone jewelry and 628 ceramic vessels with hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek texts.
