A fruitful archaeological year

This year saw several important discoveries, the restoration of ancient Egyptian, Coptic and Islamic monuments, and the return of artefacts smuggled illegally out of Egypt.

Almost every day, excavators carrying out routine excavation or cleaning stumbled on a new discovery. It might be potsherds or decorative fragments, but it could be a major discovery leading to further understanding of Egypt's history and culture.

One of the most important discoveries of 2008 was made at the forefront of Karnak Temple in Luxor. According to archaeologists it has changed the landscape and the history of this great religious complex. Supreme Council of Antiquities' (SCA) archaeologists found a Ptolemaic ceremonial bath, a private ramp for the 25th-Dynasty Pharaoh Taharqa, a large number of bronze coins, an ancient dock and the remains of a wall that once protected the temple zone from the rising Nile flood.

SCA Secretary-General Zahi Hawass says further excavation will lead to the ancient harbour and canal that once connected the temple to the Nile. According to an old map, this canal was used to gain access to the west bank of the river in a position corresponding to Hatshepsut's Deir Al-Bahari Temple, which was built on the same axis.

The first evidence that the Nile once ran alongside the temple is found in the so-called Madrasa area, 50 metres southwest of the first pylon. It includes remains of what was a massive, sandstone embankment wall built some 3,000 years ago to reinforce the bank of the river, which has since moved.