Egypt uncovers lost Byzantine-era city in the western desert

Key Points:

• Egypt announced two major archaeological discoveries: a well-preserved Byzantine-era residential city in the Dakhla Oasis and 18 ancient tombs at the Marina el-Alamein site near Alexandria.
• The Dakhla Oasis city dates back to the fourth century and includes a basilica church, watchtowers, fortified structures, and artifacts like bronze and gold coins, pottery fragments with inscriptions, and food production tools.
• At Marina el-Alamein, archaeologists uncovered rock-cut and limestone-built tombs, pottery, a granite sarcophagus with skeleton remains, a plaster sphinx statue, and gold pieces placed in the mouths of some deceased, reflecting funerary practices of the era.
• The Dakhla Oasis is on UNESCO’s Tentative List for World Heritage status, and Marina el-Alamein is believed to be the ancient Greco-Roman port city of Leukaspis, dating from the second to fourth centuries.
• Egypt’s tourism sector, crucial for foreign currency, is recovering with record visitor numbers, reaching 19 million tourists last year and increased arrivals in early 2026, boosted by such archaeological findings.