Egypt Uncovers 4th-Century Byzantine City and 18 Tombs as Tourism Hits 19 Million
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jul 4
Egypt Uncovers 4th-Century Byzantine City and 18 Tombs as Tourism Hits 19 Million
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jul 4
Summary
Egypt said archaeologists uncovered a well-preserved fourth-century Byzantine residential city in Dakhla Oasis and 18 more tombs at Marina el-Alamein, lifting the total tomb count at the coastal site to 48.
Dakhla’s find includes a mid-fourth-century basilica, two watchtowers, fortified housing, bread ovens, grinding tools, Byzantine bronze coins and gold coins from Constantius II’s reign, plus about 200 inscribed pottery fragments detailing trade and daily life.
Marina el-Alamein yielded 11 rock-cut tombs averaging 8 meters deep and seven limestone tombs, along with a 2.5-meter granite sarcophagus, skeleton remains, a plaster sphinx and four gold “tongue” pieces placed in some mouths.
The discoveries support Egypt’s push to draw antiquities tourism, a key foreign-currency source alongside the Suez Canal, after 19 million visitors arrived in 2025 and 6.1 million came in the first four months of 2026.
As Egypt unearths more treasures for tourism, is it risking the very heritage it seeks to promote?
With a goal of 30 million tourists, can remote desert finds truly compete with the pyramids for visitor attention?
What secrets do golden tongues and ancient receipts reveal about daily life in Roman and Byzantine Egypt?
Archaeological Breakthrough at Sheikh Al-Arab Hammam (2025): How a Lost City and Necropolis Are Transforming Egypt’s Tourism and Local Economy
Overview
In late 2025 and early 2026, a joint Egyptian–French archaeological mission, with key involvement from Ain Shams University, uncovered a remarkable site near Al-Arki village in Qena Governorate, Upper Egypt. Located at Farshut, about 566 km south of Cairo, the discovery revealed an 18th-century mudbrick residential city linked to the Sheikh Al-Arab Hammam citadel, as well as a Byzantine-era Coptic necropolis. This multi-layered site provides rare insights into historical settlement patterns and daily life, highlighting the region’s continuous occupation and the evolving relationship between its military, civilian, and religious communities.