Coptic tombs unearthed in Egypt

Cairo, Aug 19 (IANS) Rock-hewn tombs and remains of a residential area from the Coptic era were discovered in Upper Egypt's Minya province, the antiquities ministry has said.

A ministry statement on Friday said one of its missions discovered the tombs in the archaeological area beside Al-Nassara necropolis of Minya, Xinhua news agency reported.

The tombs date back to the fifth century A.D. and house a collection of burial chambers of 50 metres wide and 70 metres long, the statement said.

It said the residential area of 100 metres wide and 130 metres long has remains of houses, including a mud-brick house of a monk.

Excavations in the area started in 2008 when the mission discovered remains of a fifth-century church built of mud brick as well as a shrine, the statement read.

Regretfully, these remains were destroyed for lack of security in the aftermath of the revolution in January 2011, it said.

As one of the most ancient civilisations, Egypt has been hard at work to preserve its archaeological heritages.

In an attempt to revive the country's ailing tourism, which has suffered from an acute recession in the past few years due to political turmoil and security issues, Egypt is keen to uncover the Pharaohs' archaeological secrets and other civilisations throughout the history of this country.

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