Archaeologists working in Egypt believe they have uncovered the world's oldest port.
Located on the coast of the Red Sea, the harbor is an estimated 4,500 years old, effectively placing it during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu during the Fourth Dynasty. What's more, according to a press release issued by the Egyptian government, the harbor may have once been among the most important commercial ports used to export copper and other minerals from the Sinai Peninsula.
In addition to a number of different docks, archaeologists said they have identified a collection of vessel anchors carved in stone as well as 40 papyri regarding the daily life of the Egyptians alive at the time.
According to Egypt's Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim, the papyri are the oldest ever found.
Director of the excavation Pierre Tallet of the University of Paris-Sorboone told Discovery News the papyri describe, among other things, the distribution of food among Egyptians leaving from the port on expeditions.
The site was first explored in 1823 by British Egyptologist John Garner Wilkinson. And while Wilkinson was able to locate a system of galleries cut into the bedrock, he believed they were catacombs.
Tallet said he and his team decided to begin work on the galleries in 2011, ultimately uncovering 30 of them averaging 65 feet long, 10 feet wide and 7 feet high.
Believed to have once been used to store dismantled boats, the galleries feature an elaborate closure system made from heavy limestone. Inside of them, were fragments of boat, rope and pottery.
Finally, the find was accompanied by the discovery of an Old Kingdom building where anchors were stored.
In all, the port is an estimated 1,000 years older than any port ever found.