After a millennium of gold processing, archaeologists have uncovered a 3,000-year-old complex in Egypt. (See photos)

Archaeologists have uncovered a 3,000-year-old gold processing complex in Jabal Sukari, located in the Red Sea province of Egypt. The two-year research was conducted by the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) in collaboration with the administration of the Sukari gold mine, writes Heritage Daily.

The team excavated, documented, and carefully relocated the complex to a secure location three kilometers away from its original site to protect it from ongoing mining activities.

According to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the complex dates back to the Third Intermediate Period, a time marked by political instability and state fragmentation. This era coincided with the collapse of the late Bronze Age, which affected civilizations throughout the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean, including the onset of the Greek Dark Ages.

The excavations, led by SCA Secretary General Mohamed Ismail Khaled, revealed various features of the ancient gold processing site, including grinding stations, pools for filtration and settling, as well as clay furnaces used for smelting gold extracted from quartz veins. Additionally, there was a residential area for gold seekers and workers, along with workshops, temples, administrative buildings, and baths dating back to the Ptolemaic era.

The architectural remnants from the Roman and Islamic periods indicate that this site was operational for at least 1,000 years, reflecting its historical significance in gold mining and processing during various ruling cultures in Egypt.

Among other finds are 628 ostraca with hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek texts, bronze coins from the Ptolemaic era, and terracotta figurines from the Greco-Roman period depicting humans and animals. Stone figurines of deities, including Bastet and Harpocrates, were also discovered.

Khaled noted that this discovery provides valuable insights into ancient Egyptian mining technologies, deepening our understanding of the social, religious, and economic lives of ancient gold seekers.

We also reported on the only known center for the production of obsidian mirrors, which was recently found by Turkish researchers. According to scholars, it was from here that the volcanic glass mirrors spread throughout the region.