Archaeologists from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) have uncovered a 3,000-year-old gold processing complex at Jabal Sukari, southwest of Marsa Alam City in Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate.

The two-year project involved the excavation, documentation, and the relocation of the complex to a safe area 3 km away from its original discovery site.

The complex dates from the Third Intermediate Period, which is considered a time of decline, political instability and state fragmentation. This period coincided with the Late Bronze Age collapse which resulted to the downfall of civilisations across the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean, and was followed by the Greek Dark Ages.

“Excavations revealed a 3,000-year-old gold processing complex, featuring grinding and crushing stations, filtration and sedimentation basins, and ancient clay furnaces used for smelting gold extracted from quartz veins,” SCA Secretary-General Mohamed Ismail Khaled, said.

Excavations at the site also brought to light a residential district which housed gold miners and workers in the complex, as well as workshops, temples, administrative buildings, and bathhouses that date from the Ptolemaic era. Architectural remains from the Roman and Islamic periods indicate that the site remained active for at least 1,000 years.

Further findings include 628 ostraca inscribed with hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek text, as well as Ptolemaic bronze coins. In addition, archaeologists unearthed terracotta figurines depicting human and animal forms from the Graeco-Roman period and stone statuettes of deities such as Bastet and Harpocrates.

“This discovery is significant as it enhances our understanding of Ancient Egyptian mining techniques,” Khaled noted.