Egypt completes revival of 3,000-year-old gold mining city at Jabal Sukari on Red Sea - Ancient Egypt
This ambitious initiative lasted two years and was carried out in partnership with the Sukari Gold Mine administration.
It complied with all relevant legal and administrative protocols, and the Permanent Committee for Ancient Egyptian Antiquities approved it.
The project entailed extensive archaeological excavations, documentation, and restoration efforts to safeguard the architectural elements uncovered at the site.
To ensure their preservation, the structures were carefully relocated three kilometres north of their original location, beyond the boundaries of the modern mining zone at Sukari Mine.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy expressed his enthusiasm for the discoveries, emphasizing the ministry's dedication to preserving Egypt's cultural heritage while supporting national development and economic progress.
"Excavations revealed a 3,000-year-old gold processing complex. The facility featured grinding and crushing stations, filtration and sedimentation basins, and ancient clay furnaces used for smelting the gold extracted from quartz veins," SCA Secretary-General Mohamed Ismail Khaled said.
Moreover, archaeologists discovered a residential district once inhabited by gold miners. This district included remains of homes, workshops, temples, administrative buildings, and bathhouses dating back to the Ptolemaic era.
Architectural remains from the Roman and Islamic periods were also found, underscoring the site's enduring historical significance.
The excavation yielded 628 ostraca inscribed with hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek texts and a collection of Ptolemaic bronze coins.
Additional findings included terracotta figurines depicting human and animal forms from the Graeco-Roman period and a collection of stone statuettes representing deities such as Bastet and Harpocrates.
Furthermore, archaeologists found five Ptolemaic offering tables, a diverse collection of pottery vessels used for daily life, perfumes, medicines, incense, beads made from semi-precious stones, and decorative items crafted from seashells.
'It is a significant discovery because it expands our understanding of ancient Egyptian mining techniques,' Khaled expressed.
He explained that the findings offer invaluable insights into gold miners' social, religious, and economic lives in historical desert settlements.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Antiquities Sector head Mohamed Abdel-Badie said: "All the unearthed architectural elements of the city were relocated to a neighbouring location, spanning six kilometres north of the ancient city's original location along six feddans, to preserve the site's historical significance."
A visitor centre has also been established. It features large display screens showcasing the excavation process and findings and informational panels detailing the region's historical importance and the artefacts uncovered.
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Mada
8 hours ago
- Mada
What was the Greek coastguard doing instead of rescuing 750 people?
'Tell the captain of the big red ship 'we don't want to go to Greece' okay?' an officer in the Greek coastguard said at 6:51 pm in a call to the Adriana, a fishing boat carrying 750 migrants, on June 13. The officer's voice can be heard speaking to the fishing vessel seven hours before it and the hundreds of desperate people on board would capsize into the sea in one of the biggest wrecks to ever take place in the Mediterranean. Instead of conducting rescue operations that could have saved over 500 people who died in the wreck, mostly Egyptian and Pakistani nationals who had boarded the irregular migration voyage from Libya to seek a better life in Europe, the Greek coastguard can be heard instructing the passengers in distress to tell passing commercial vessels that they don't want to enter Greece's maritime zone. A recording of the 6:51 pm call is audible in one of the files the Greek coastguard submitted to the Piraeus Naval Court that is investigating its role in the 2023 shipwreck, obtained and reviewed by OmniaTV. The call, only audible in the background of one of the submitted files, discredits the narrative that was put forward by the coastguard immediately after the wreck: that the people on board did not want Greece's help and insisted that they wanted to travel to Italy — and that nine of survivors of the wreck were responsible for the death of the majority of the passengers. OmniaTV's examination of the recordings, which document some calls between the coastguard and other vessels in the final hours before the Adriana sank, shows that the coastguard was aware of the desperate conditions on board and that instead of acting to rescue them, it spent hours in advance of the wreck creating a set of documentary evidence that would exempt it of any responsibility toward the passengers in danger. The Greek outlet, as well as lawyers of the survivors and the passengers who died, and the Greek Ombudsman investigating the wreck independently, also point to gaps in the evidence submitted by the coastguard to the investigating court. Following the concerns raised by several entities and the evidence that has emerged from the recordings, a new round of preliminary investigations was launched earlier this year — almost two years after the wreck — into the Greek coastguard's actions. All signs of emergency, no sense of urgency Although details of what the coastguard actually did in the hours before the shipwreck are difficult to confirm due to gaps in the official statements and evidence submitted, the accounts of other entities that played a role during the boat's final hours at sea provide a picture. What emerges is that it was clear to the coastguard, more than 12 hours before the Adriana capsized, that the boat was near Greek waters and the many people on board were in distress. Italy based activist Nawal Soufi first shared information about the boat with the Italian authorities after she received a distress call from its passengers in the morning on June 13. Italian authorities then informed the Greek coastguard's Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) at 11.00 am that the overcrowded boat in distress was within the Greek search and rescue zone. Based in Piraeus, the JRCC operates under the Greek coastguard's authority and coordinates search and rescue operations within the Greek zone. While the Greek coastguard confirmed in its official statement the following day that it made contact with passengers on the boat as early as 11 am on June 13, it stressed that the passengers refused to be rescued in Greece. The coastguard was aware, however, that the people on board were in a dangerous situation. This information was conveyed to them by Alarm Phone, an activist hotline for migrants in distress in the Mediterranean, who sent an email to the Greek coastguard and Frontex later on the same day stating that passengers were 'urgently requesting assistance.' Instead of sending a rescue vessel to assist, the coastguard sent two commercial vessels carrying food and water, which it said were the only kind of assistance the passengers required as 'they wished to continue on to Italy.' The captains of both commercial vessels echoed the dangerous situation in their reports to the coastguard, but they were also dismissed. In a call between the captain of the Lucky Sailor, the first commercial vessel that approached the sinking boat on the evening of June 13, and a JRCC official, the captain can be heard saying that the Adriana was overcrowded to the point where people on deck were unable to stand up. The Greek official fails to address the captain's concerns, however, neglecting to engage with his description of the boat's dangerous situation on the call. Description: Call between JRCC operator and the Lucky Sailo r captain, on June 13, 2023, at 20:10:42. Courtesy: OmniaTV Then, when the Faithful Warrior, the second commercial ship, approached the sinking boat at around 9 pm, its captain also reportedly informed the coastguard that it was ' rocking dangerously ' because of the large number of people visibly on deck. These reports of danger from the hours before the wreck were nowhere to be found in the Greek coastguard's retelling of the events in the following days, with its officials insisting instead, on multiple occasions, that the Adriana 's passengers did not request Greece's help. The coastguard also refused offers of help by Frontex in the hours before the boat sank. In an internal report from December last year, Frontex, which also received Alarm Phone's email, said it informed the coastguard that the boat needed assistance shortly afterward and, on five separate occasions until the time of the shipwreck, offered to assist the coastguard in its operations. All offers were rejected. Instead of accepting assistance, a joint investigation by Mada Masr and OmniaTV at the time revealed that the coastguard instructed Frontex's drone to patrol a different area where another incident was taking place on the same day. Frontex concluded in its report that the coastguard launched rescue operations when it was 'already too late' to save the people aboard the Adriana. Staging impunity What was the coast guard doing in the meantime? The answer is indicated by a conversation between coastguard officers that can be heard in the background of one of the recorded calls, though documentation of the conversation itself was not among the recordings submitted as evidence. In the call, which took place shortly before 6 pm, the officers can be heard discussing the narrative Greek authorities would repeat over and over on the following days. A JRCC operator tells his colleague that it would be 'convenient' if it is written in the logbook of the Lucky Sailor that the Adriana 's passengers refused to be rescued in Greece, according to a transcript of the call published by OmniaTV. Another JRCC operator can be heard later in the background of a second recorded call, a little before 7 pm, instructing passengers to tell an approaching commercial vessel that 'we don't want to go to Greece.' Description: Call between JRCC operator and the Radio and Television Center on June 13, 2023, at 18:51:34. Courtesy: OmniaTV Audio editing: Alexandre Mitri A little after 8 pm that night, the captain of the Lucky Sailor told a JRCC operator that this is what the people aboard the Adriana did. The same JRCC operator then requested that the Lucky Sailor's captain be careful to document the fact that people on the Adriana had asked not to go to Greece. 'They told you that they don't want to stay in Greece and they want to go to Italy, they don't want anything else?' the rescue center official asked in the recorded call submitted to court. The captain replied that passengers on deck screamed 'Italia' when he asked 'Greece or Italia?' — just as they had earlier been instructed to do by the JRCC. 'Captain, I want you to write this in your logbook, the bridge logbook,' the rescue center official is heard instructing through the recording. 'I want you to write that they don't want to stay in Greece and they want to go to Italy. That they want nothing from Greece and they want to go to Italy.' Description: Call between the captain of the Lucky Sailor and JRCC official on June 13, 2023, at 20:10:42. Courtesy: OmniaTV This insistence was vital in supporting what the Greek Shipping Ministry would assert in its recounting of events the next day: that the hundreds of men, women and children who had been stuck at sea in the Adriana for days were intransigent and did not want the help that was offered to them. The ministry claimed that the Adriana 's passengers had thrown supplies offered to them into the sea, something that one of the survivors told The Washington Post at the time was done because the bottles of water were thrown at them by the trade vessel and the movement was causing the boat to rock worryingly, putting them in danger of capsizing. Missing evidence None of the communications between the JRCC and the rescue vessel, before the shipwreck, nor any of the JRCC's communications with the Adriana, with the exception of the call audible in the background of another recording, were included in the evidence submitted by the coastguard to the Piraeus court. The captain of the first and only boat that the Greek coastguard sent, the PPLS 920, said in court that he was instructed to depart toward the boat in distress by noon on June 13, in his deposition in an earlier case which tried nine Egyptian migrants who were eventually acquitted of charges of causing the boat to capsize. But after the PPLS 920 's departure from Crete, it approached the distressed boat and 'remained at a distance and observed it discreetly' at 10:40 pm, according to the coast guard's statement the next day. After that, the only recorded contact between the PPLS920 and the JRCC is 24 minutes before the boat sank, at 1:40 am on June 14, reporting on the failure of the fishing trawler's motor. Even the call detailing the capsizing is not included in the evidence submitted. It was, however, quoted in the coastguard's records on June 14 that at 2:04 am, an official on board the Lucky Sailor informed the Shipping Ministry that the fishing vessel 'took a right, then a sharp left and another right so great that it resulted in its overturning.' But none of the communications made by JRCC in the most critical period of the incident, between two and a half hours prior to the shipwreck until around 18 minutes after it occurred, were included in the submitted evidence. Instead, it submitted to the court 12 calls made between the JRCC and its rescue vessel in the hours following the capsizing, where they planned recovery operations of the people who were thrown into the sea. In an attempt to justify the gap in the evidence, the coastguard has claimed that it was due to a 'complete collapse of the JRCC telecommunications system,' adding that in this case, communications are usually made from 'analog devices' and are therefore unable to be recorded. However, according to OmniaTV, there is no record of the JRCC's telecommunications system failing during that period of time. Other factors that made it difficult to review the coastguard's actions on the day of the shipwreck were that the rescue vessel it sent to monitor the Adriana was not provided with a black box, or Voyage Data Recorder — despite recommendations by Frontex to Greek authorities in 2021 which require all Frontex-funded Greek rescue vessels, like the PPLS-920, to record operations. The vessel's cameras were also out of order, as reportedly claimed by the coastguard to the Greek Ombudsman, which launched its investigation after the coast guard refused to launch an internal one. The coastguard argued at the time that its crew were instead focused on rescue operations. The coastguard later claimed that while the cameras did work, images were not stored due a long-term failure in the recording system, according to the Greek authority. The type of rescue ship sent by the coastguard is equipped with two state-of-the-art thermal camera systems. These ' gaps and omissions ' were also noted to be present in another evidence file submitted by the coastguard at the request of the Greek Ombudsman. The independent authority highlighted in a statement earlier this year that data from the mobile phone of the rescue vessel captain, now in possession of the Piraeus court, and all conversations between the captain and the JRCC until the boat capsized were among the most crucial undisclosed pieces of evidence. The authority has also accused senior Greek coastguard officers of 'a series of serious and reprehensible omissions in the search and rescue duties,' holding eight of its senior members responsible for the death of hundreds. Lawyers representing the survivors and those who were killed also mentioned that crucial conversations between coastguard officials were not included in the evidence submitted to the Piraeus Maritime Court, which began initial investigations into the Greek coastguard's role in the shipwreck in June 2023 and concluded them in December. The lawyers submitted a petition to the court in which they mentioned the missing evidence in the same month. The lawyers are contesting the Piraeus court's lack of investigation into the actions of the Greek maritime authority's high-ranking officials. The deputy prosecutor of the court has so far summoned only the captain and crew of the rescue vessel. OmniaTV has also found that not only did the Piraeus Naval Court Prosecution not receive the calls made by the coastguard's rescue operations, but they did not request them. According to OmniaTV, before submitting evidence, the coastguard had formed a committee to select audio recordings and written transcripts of the calls it made on June 13 and in the early hours of June 14. Justifying the selection of evidence, the guard claimed that it was necessary in order to distinguish the calls related to the Pylos shipwreck from those concerning a separate incident that occurred on the same day. Lawyers of the survivors and several rights groups have also highlighted the coastguard's lack of accountability and unwillingness to submit all the evidence from the time of the shipwreck. The court's deputy prosecutor re-launched initial investigations into the coastguard earlier this year and then referred 17 members of the Greek coastguard to criminal investigation in May, including officials in higher positions, finally turning the spotlight on the coastguard's role in the case almost two years after the initial incident.
Watani
5 days ago
- Watani
Ancient Egypt unveils in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) and Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) have signed an agreement to launch the special exhibition 'Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums' in mid-November 2025. The signing ceremony was held on 26 June 2025 at Hong Kong Palace Museum. It was attended by Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of SCA; Baher Sheweikhi, Consul-General of Egypt in Hong Kong; Betty Fung, Chief Executive Officer of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA); and Louis Ng, Museum Director of the HKPM; together with high ranking diplomats and antiquities and museum officials from Egypt and China. Two great civilisations The special exhibition, which will run for an unprecedented nine-and-a-half months, brings together 250 exquisite treasures from seven major museums in Egypt. These include the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Luxor Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art, Suez National Museum, and Sohag National Museum. Recent archaeological discoveries from Saqqara's vast necropolis of the ancient capital Memphis, south of Cairo, will also be exhibited, offering visitors a glimpse into the mysteries of Egypt's magnificent ancient civilisation. The Museum will also present a group of ancient Chinese objects to foster dialogue and exchange with their Egyptian counterparts, highlighting the parallel development and achievements of two of the world's greatest ancient civilisations. On its website, HKPM posted: 'On view from 20 November 2025 to 31 August 2026 at the HKPM, the special exhibition 'Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums' marks a significant milestone as the second direct collaboration between Egypt's SCA and an Asian museum, following the acclaimed exhibition 'On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilisation of Ancient Egypt' at Shanghai Museum. 'Coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt in 2026, the exhibition at HKPM showcases the fruitful outcome of cross-cultural exchange and collaboration between the two nations.' Firsts The HKPM post continues: 'Featuring spectacular treasures from seven major Egyptian museums alongside the latest archaeological discoveries from Saqqara, 'Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums' showcases in Hong Kong the largest, most comprehensive, and longest running display of ancient Egyptian treasures. 'The extraordinary collection of 250 precious artefacts includes statues of pharaohs and deities, stone sculptures in relief, stelae, gold ornaments, large-scale coffins, animal mummies and more. The antiquity pieces were created some 7,300 to 2,000 years ago, spanning over 5,000 years of history. 'All the artefacts will be displayed in Hong Kong for the first time; many are exhibited for the first time outside Egypt. 'The exhibition is divided into four sections: Land of the Pharaohs, Legend of Tutankhamun, Secrets of Saqqara, and Ancient Egypt and the World. 'The first section introduces the history of ancient Egyptian civilisation with a focus on convergence of royal and religious power, the spiritual world, life and afterlife. 'The second and third sections unveil the earth-shattering archaeological discoveries associated with the famed Pharaoh Tutankhamun who reigned circa 1332–1323 BC. The fourth features Saqqara, where worshipping cats and other animals was widely practiced. 'The last section explores cultural interactions and dialogues between ancient Egypt and other world civilisations.' Highlights The most notable exhibits include a colossal 2.8m tall statue of Tutankhamun, the boy pharaoh whose tomb treasure was discovered intact in 1922, turning him into a legend despite his political near-insignificance in Egypt's history. A colossal statue of Pharaoh Akhenaten who reigned in 1353 for 17 years, and is known as the father of monotheism will be on show. Akhenaten called for worshipping only the sun-god Atun to the exclusion of all other deities. There is also a statue of a seated scribe; the greatly respected profession of scribes raised them to significant ranks. Scribes studied arithmetic, geometry, and religious knowledge, and worked across all levels of bureaucracy, drafting legal documents, archiving correspondence, copying religious texts, and recording the king's achievements while also organising censuses, land surveys, tax collection, construction projects, mining expeditions, commercial trade, and military campaigns. Additionally, a statue of the cat-goddess Bastet holding a sistrum will be on display, together with cat mummies. Bastet's worship dates back to around 3000–2686 BC. Other animal-gods on show will include the jackal-god Anubis who was a funerary deity in charge of mummification and also played a crucial role in underworld judgement. A statue of hippopotamus, who represented chaos and destruction but also fertility and rebirth will be on show. HKPM and WestK The Hong Kong Palace Museum presents priceless treasures from The Palace Museum along with the finest collections from other world-renowned institutions. The Museum is in the process of building its own world-class collection. Opened in 2022, it is a leading institution for the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture and the promotion of dialogue among world civilisations. The Museum is a collaborative project between the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and The Palace Museum. WestK is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural hubs in the world and is Hong Kong's new cultural tourism landmark. Spanning 40 hectares alongside Victoria Harbour. WestK comprises a mix of landmark arts and cultural facilities, including world-class museums M and the HKPM, intricately designed performing arts venues the Xiqu Centre and Freespace, the 11-hectare Art Park with a waterfront promenade, and the WestK Performing Arts Centre. Watani International 15 July 2025 Comments comments
Watani
6 days ago
- Watani
Newly renovated Roman-era tomb of Two Brothers opens
Following a year-long restoration, a Roman-era tomb that goes back to the second AD century, has opened to the public. The tomb is known as the Tomb of the Two Brothers. It is located in the ancient city of Athribis, in present-day Naga al-Sheikh Hamad, west of Sohag some 460km south of Cairo. Muhammad Khaled Ismail, Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities which was in charge of the restoration work, expressed his pride at the meticulous efforts exerted by the restorers and the professional manner in which they executed the work. The tomb belonged to the two brothers Ip Pamani and Pa Mehyt, sons of Hor Nefer and Tashret Hor Segem. It is composed of a square-shaped antechamber leading to a triangular burial chamber that features an oblong burial niche in its western wall. The tomb is famous for its vivid astronomical scenes and richly ornamented funerary imagery, but especially for its rare ceiling that depicting two zodiac signs, each concerning one of the brothers. The tomb was discovered more than 150 years ago; it was first documented by British archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1906–1907. Athribis was part of the ninth Upper (southern) Egyptian nome, and is a key archaeological site that played a significant role in the late Greek and early Roman eras in Egypt, also in the Christian centuries during the the early development of monasticism. The sprawling site includes temples, cemeteries, quarries, industrial workshops, and 6th-century hermit cells, convent, and church. Watani International 14 July 2025 Comments comments Tags: Egypt Sohag tomb of Two BrothersSanaa' Farouk
