Ancient Egyptian farmers built their own irrigation systems and used fire and animal sacrifices to feed their families.
But archaeologists unearthed a field in the desert region of Aswan that dates back to the 2nd millennium BC, where they found more than 50 mounds of cultivated barley and olives, according to a video released by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism.
Archaeologists found the fields around the same time as the Great Pyramid of Giza and the tombs of pharaohs Amenhotep III and his brother Khufu.
Archaeologist Ahmed Fadlallah told the Associated Press that his team found the ancient fields in early May and that the fields are part of a network of irrigation systems for farming.
Fadluh said they have found more fields around Aswan than previously thought.
“We are finding more fields than we thought, and we are working on finding more sites,” he said.
Fadalallah said the field they found had been used for a long time, but the site is not known.
The researchers plan to dig out the fields for research and the excavation is expected to last up to a year, Fadli said.
