Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni announced that a French-Egyptian mission has discovered a previously unknown structure in the area of Ain Sokhna, about 120 km southeast of Cairo. The rectangular building with an interior hall dates to the Middle Kingdom (ca. 1665-2061 BC), and surrounds nine galleries and three narrow passages.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the archaeological team has been working at the site since 1999, when they found the remains of a Middle Kingdom settlement. This settlement was an important logistical center, which served a variety of functions. This year, excavations in the galleries led the team to a collection of clay vessels bearing the names of kings of the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, as well as large cedar planks and ropes from boats used to cross the Gulf of Suez to Sinai, where turquoise and copper were mined.
George Castle, the head of the French team, said that other important installations linked to these expeditions were found on the site, including a natural promontory by the sea. The remains of many successive occupations were found, the most important of which dates to the Old Kingdom. A square building that seems to have been the center of the original complex was also found.
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