As Egypt is rich in history and cultural heritage, another excavation has been brought into light as archaeologists unearth a residential and commercial town dating back to the Greco-Roman era in the coastal city of Alexandria.

During the excavation work in the al-Shatby neighbourhood, Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt said that “the mission found ...a large network of tunnel tanks painted in pink for storing rain, flood, and groundwater to be used during the draught time.”

According to the studies, the settlement was used from the second century BC to the fourth century AD.

Waziri shared that pottery pots and some statues have been found in more than 40 wells and tanks, which indicated a large population in that area near Alexandria, the capital of Egypt in the Greco-Roman era.

Archaeologists also found rest houses for travellers and visitors, where they waited to collect licenses for entering the town as well as tax-collecting centres during the excavation.

In addition to a huge network of tunnel cisterns covered with a layer of pink mortar to store water from wells, rain, and floods for use in dry seasons, the mission discovered water wells carved in the rock. Nearly 700 coins and plates in different shapes and a large number of fishing tools have been found in the town.

Ayman Ashmawy, head of Egyptian antiquities at the council, shared that there were over 40 wells and cisterns in which pots, lamps, and some statues were found, indicating the high population density of this suburb.

Meanwhile, Khaled Abu Hamad Director-General of Alexandria Antiquities Authority said the town had a big market, shops for selling pots, and workshops for making statues. “Excavation work on the old town took nine months,” said Abu Hamad, who added that the district was crucial for connecting trade movement between the east and the west.