Archaeologists have discovered a complex of 20 grain silos dating back 4,000 years at Kom Ombo Temple in the Upper Egyptian province of Aswan.
A team of Egyptians and Austrians discovered the silos in a Ptolemaic temple in Aswan’s Kom Ombo complex, one of the most renowned relics of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period of Egyptian history.
Com Ombo was a hotspot for agriculture and commerce during the First Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt which was a time of political instability that divided the old and middle kingdoms.
It is believed that when the temple was in use, there was a large community around it because so many grain silos have been found at the site.
Dr Abdel Moneim Saeed, head of Aswan’s Antiquities Affairs, said the silos were well preserved for their age.
He said that almost intact vaults, stairs, and storage rooms were found among the excavated containers.
Many of the silos were almost two metres tall, and a few were even taller.
Archaeologists discovered mice skeletons inside one of the containers, the ministry said.
Dr Irene Foster, head of the Austrian team, said that they found the foundations of a British fort built during the empire’s occupation of Egypt in the 19th century during their work in the area.
It is believed that this fort served as a military control point during the Mahdist War of Sudan (1881-1885), during which Sudanese rebels challenged Egypt’s khedivate and the British Army.
Dr Foster said the fort could easily monitor traffic through the Nile.