Manuscript seized
A page from a manuscript dating back to the 15th century was seized at Damietta port as an Australian tourist tried to smuggle it outside the country. Zahi Hawwas, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said the authenticity of the manuscript has been verified, adding that the coloured page had been torn out of a manuscript that went back to the Indian Mongolian school and is priceless. The antiquities protection law applies to it. According to antiquities expert Hassan Rasmy the manuscript, which is of vital artistic and historical significance, will be placed at the Islamic museum in Cairo as soon as the necessary procedures are completed.
The SCA has established 28 units in Egypt’s ports and airports to monitor and examine any pieces of antiquity that may be seized from travellers leaving Egypt.
Second port
A huge dam and a second Nile harbour have been discovered outside Karnak Temple in Luxor. An Egyptian archaeological mission has so far exposed 250 metres of the wall of the dam which was built to protect the temple from the annual inundation of the River Nile. As for the port, it was built to facilitate visiting the temple during the months when the Nile was low. Dr Hawwas said that the harbour, which is situated to the north of the temple, is the second Karnak harbour discovered. The first port was discovered last year and consists of a huge slope that leads from the Nile bank to the temple itself and was used to bring into the temple stones, live sacrifices and offerings.
Antiquities specialist Mansour Radwan said that several holes, probably for the purpose of mooring boats, were found in the body of the dam.
The remains of a Greco Roman city were found on top of the port, which, according to Dr Mansour, indicates that the watercourse of the Nile had shifted westwards over time, allowing the area to be used for residence.