A settlement dating back to the time of the pyramid builders was discovered in Egypt's western desert, the first find of its kind there, Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA) said Monday.
"A joint Egypt-Czech archaeological mission found a city dating to the Old Kingdom [2687 to 2191 BC] in the Garat Al Abyad region in Bahariya," SCA chief Zahi Hawass said, referring to an isolated oasis 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Cairo.
"Remains of walls, buildings, as well as pottery were found in this area not far from where the golden mummies were discovered," added Hawass, recalling the cache of Roman-era gilded mummies found in the late 1990s to great fanfare.
One of the Czechs emailed the EEF lists saying it is indeed an OK settlement, but its extent and function are not known.