Egypt’s Oldest Port Uncovered

News April 12, 2013

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CAIRO, EGYPT—Antiquities Minister Mohammed Ibrahim announced that a harbor and papyri dating to the third millennium B.C. were discovered at the site of Wadi el-Jarf, located on the Red Sea. A team of Egyptian and French archaeologists uncovered stone anchors, stone cutting tools, homes for the port’s workers, and 30 caves closed up with stone blocks bearing the name of pyramid-builder King Khufu. “The papyri, which provide detailed accounts of daily life and traditions at the time of the Old Kingdom, are considered the oldest ever found,” Ibrahim said.

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