By Xinhua
Cairo : Remains of an ancient dam dating back some 4,000 years have been discovered in Upper Egypt, The Egyptian Gazette newspaper reported Sunday.
According to Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, the ancient dam was found a few metres away from the Karnak Temple in Luxor some 500 km south of Cairo.
The discovery was made by an Egyptian-French archaeological team, which has been working in Luxor since March, Hawass was quoted as saying at a press conference.
“The 230-metre long dam was built during the age of the Middle Kingdom (of ancient Egypt) to protect the temple from the Nile flood,” said Hawass.
The Egyptian archaeology chief stressed the importance of the finding, saying it proved that the ancient Egyptians were good at building dams.
The team had also unearthed the relics of a Roman bath built in the first century AD and a clay jar containing 316 coins from different historical periods, said Hawass.