A cave cut in the rock has been discovered in the Pharaonic Port of Marsa Gawasis in Safaga.

In December-January, archaeologists found the timbers of sea-going vessels that were over 3,500 years old at Marsa Gawasis, which was a port on Egypt's Red Sea coast in Pharaonic times.

The cedar planks, which were imported from Syria, were found in two man-made caves. Among the other finds were rigging and inscriptions about expeditions to the Land of Punt...

In 2001, the University of Naples, the Italian African and Oriental Institute and Boston University began to examine the site under the direction of Rodolfo Fattovich and Kathryn Bard...

Late December last year, after more than three metres of sand had been removed from the slope of the coral reef, the entrance of a large man-made cave was uncovered by the Italian and American archaeologists.

Stone anchors, two large cedar beams were found plus mud bricks and plaster that had been used to reinforce the entrance.

To the north of the entrance, the archaeologists found an antechamber leading to two rectangular rooms both 12 x 4 metres.

To the south is a smaller antechamber leading to yet another chamber hewn out of solid rock. Outside the cave entrance are small carved niches, four of which still contained limestone steles, which suggest that this cave was a temple...

Carved ... stele [with] the cartouche of King Amenemhat III... The hieroglyphic text below a scene of the King making an offering to the god Min concerns two expeditions led by officials Nebsu and Amenhotep to Punt and Bia-Punt...

Oldest maritime artefacts found, Egypt State Information Service, Egypt, January 28, 2007.

Previously: Find Wadi Gawasis or Kathryn Bard on egyptologyblog.co.uk via Google.

Field reports linked below.

Joint Archaeological Expedition at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis (Red Sea, Egypt) of the University of Naples "l'Orientale" (Naples, Italy), Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (Rome, Italy), and Boston University (Boston, USA) - 2005-2006 Field Season, Redazione Archaeogate, Italy, May 17, 2006.

Recent Excavations at the Pharaonic Port of Mersa Gawasis on the Red Sea, 2004-2005 Field Season, Redazione Archaeogate, Italy, September 23, 2005.

Mersa Gawasis (Red Sea - Egypt): UNO/IsIAO and BU 2003-2004 Field Season under direction of Rodolfo Fattovich and Kathryn Bard, Redazione Archaeogate, Italy, October 10, 2004.

Archaeological Investigation at Wadi Gawasis (Red Sea - Egypt) of the Italian Institute for Africa and the Orient (Rome) and "L'Orientale" (Naples): December 2002 - January 2003 Field Season, Redazione Archaeogate, Italy, November 28, 2003.

In a bid to save hundreds of ancient tombs in Luxor, the Egyptian government has begun relocating 3200 families whose livelihoods depend on these burial sites. And while politicians claim the move will preserve an important part of Egypt's history and scientists say it will make excavations in the area easier, the residents of the village of Old Gurna believe they are being dealt a bad hand.

Old Gurna lies on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, 500 km south of Cairo. Directly in its backyard lies the grand Temple of Hatshepsut and on either side of the village lie the Valleys of the Kings and Queens, where pharaohs and their brides, sons and daughters were buried more than 3400 years ago.

But Old Gurna is not only known for its strategic location in the midst of ancient history, it lies directly above some of that history itself. For scattered between and directly below the homes of Old Gurna are 950 known tombs of nobles, governors, mayors, and scribes. And archaeologists believe there are still hundreds more to be discovered...

When Pharaohs lived among the ruins of Old Gurna, Nadia El-Awady, The Daily Star, Egypt, January 28, 2007.

Egypt is fuming over a competition to choose the world's "new seven wonders," deriding it as a marketing stunt that demeans the Pyramids of Giza, the only surviving ancient wonder. "They are the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that still exist. It's ridiculous. They don't need to be put to a vote," Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass was quoted as saying in local newspapers.

Culture Minister Farouk Hosni echoed the complaint, describing the project as "absurd" and its creator, Swiss-Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber, as a man "concerned primarily with self-promotion."

Weber, on a tour of the 21 short-listed sites, got a frosty reception in Egypt.

The hotel banquet hall near the Pyramids where Weber was due to hold a news conference Wednesday was closed down at the last minute "for maintenance" and an AFP television crew was prevented from filming "for security reasons..."

Egypt seethes at 'new seven wonders' competition for Pyramids, AFP via The Daily Star, Lebanon, January 26, 2007.

cf. Egypt says new seven wonders of the world competition 'demeans' the pyramids, AFP via The Daily Star, Egypt, January 25, 2007.

cf. Egyptians sneer at new '7 Wonders' contest, Anna Johnson, AP via The Miami Herald, Florida, USA, January 29, 2007.