Egypt has uncovered a well-preserved 1,600-year-old Byzantine-era city in Dakhla Oasis: Homes, basilica church, ovens, coins and writing fragments show how people lived in the western desert

As humans dream of venturing to other planets and creating a virtual world with the help of AI, the hand that was holding tight with the past seems to be losing its grip. In the race to develop the future, the rich depths of the past are getting lost. Those that define our origins, reveal our evolution and connect us with each other more than we already do.A recent discovery in Egypt has inspired many to continue touching grass with the past of human civilisation.

On Saturday, the country announced two major archaeological finds. Among them, one is a well-preserved Byzantine-era residential city in the western desert.A slice of the past The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said that the first discovery reveals details of daily life, urban development and economic activities in the Dakhla Oasis in the fourth century, back when the country was part of the Byzantine empire.

The unearthed quarters included north-south thoroughfares intersected by east-west streets, forming open squares and public spaces, said Hisham el-Leithy, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.A basilica church dating back to the mid-fourth century also stands at the settlement's head, overlooking the main streets.

Alongside are two watchtowers to safeguard the outskirts, said Mahmoud Massoud, who chairs the archaeological mission.A heavily fortified structure with thick defensive walls and many houses consisting of reception halls and vaulted roofs were also found in the area. Among them was the house of Tisous, identified as a church deacon and dating to the second half of the fourth century, which archaeologists believe served as a house church before the basilica was constructed in the city.Not just abodes and religious institutions, archaeologists also uncovered bread ovens, kitchens and stone grinding tools that had been used to cook food.

Well-preserved bronze coins bearing portraits of Byzantine emperors, Latin inscriptions and Christian symbols, alongside a group of gold coins dating to the reign of Roman emperor Constantinus II, who ruled between 337 and 361, were also found at the site.200 pottery fragments known as Octraca, that would have been used as writing materials were also discovered, revealed Diaa Zahran, head of the Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities department.

These have inscriptions detailing commercial transactions, correspondence and other details of daily life.The Dakhla Oasis, located in Egypt's western province of New Valley in the western desert is on UNESCO's Tentative List. It is only a step away from being added to the agency's World Heritage List.Rock-cut tombs in Alexandria Otherwise, archaeologists have found 18 ancient tombs in the Marina el-Alamein archaeological site, which is around 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

The findings include 11 rock-cut tombs with an average depth of 8 metres and seven surface limestone-built tombs, said the ministry. This discovery has brought the total number of tombs found in the site to 48, it added.Here, pottery vessels, amphorae, lamps, plates, altars and limestone basins were unearthed as well.

Mission chief Eman Abdel-Khaliq said they found a 2.5-meter-long granite sarcophagus, with skeletal remains that were currently being studied. Near the sarcophagus, they also found remains of a plaster sphinx statue. Abdel-Khaliq said they also found 4 gold pieces placed inside the mouths of some of the deceased — known as “the golden tongue,” which had been a practice associated with funerary beliefs of that era.Marina el-Alamein is an archaeological site close to the city of Alamein on Egypt's northern coast, unearthed in 1986.

Archaeologists believe the site was the ancient Greco-Roman port city of Leukaspis on the Mediterranean, which was built in the second century and thrived until the fourth century.Following the 2011 uprising and the coronavirus pandemic, Egypt's tourism has finally started to recover after years of political turmoil and violence.

The Egyptian government hopes that the findings will boost the country's vital tourism sector, partially driven by antiquities sightseeing. Along with the strategic Suez Canal, tourism is a major source of foreign currency for the cash-strapped country.A record 19 million tourists visited Egypt last year, a 21% increase from 2024, according to official figures.

The first four months of 2026 saw 6.1 million tourists, compared with 5.7 million during the same period in 2025, according to the figures.