The joint Egyptian-Italian archaeological mission working at Tell al-Maskhuta site in Ismailia Governorate uncovered a large collection of pots and amphorae dating back to the Late Period of ancient Egypt and Greco-Roman era.
The archaeological mission is a joint effort between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Italian National Research Council – Institute for Ancient Mediterranean Studies (CNR).
The Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, stressed the importance of this discovery as it indicates the importance of this region in the past as a commercial center.
This region saw a great deal of international trade and communications during the Roman era, he explained, as Egypt was a center for international trade.
Waziri said that this was thanks to the important infrastructure represented in the canal that linked the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, known as the Sesostris Canal.
The head of the mission Andrea Angelini said that the mission also succeeded in uncovering a huge slope that rises to the top of the huge wall that was discovered during excavations in 2017, which represents the northern side of the great city wall.
The slope contributed greatly to the protection of one of the military castles located at the site to the east, as well as the corridor that was used to collect fees and customs on the trade route, secure commercial convoys and repel any aggression coming from the east, Angelini added.
