'World's oldest port' found in Egypt

Archaeologists have discovered what is believed to be the world's oldest harbour in Egypt which dates back to 4,500 years.
The harbour, discovered on the Red Sea coast, is believed to belong to the days of the Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) in the Fourth Dynasty.
A French-Egyptian archaeological mission discovered the oldest commercial harbour at Wadi Al-Jarf area, 180 km south of Sueze, Egypt State Information Service reported.
The team also discovered the oldest papyri ever unearthed in the country.
On the Red Sea shore at Wadi Al-Jarf area along the Suez-Zaafarana road, the mission from the French Institute for Archaeological Studies (IFAO) stumbled upon what it believed to be the most ancient harbour ever found in Egypt.

"Evidence unearthed at the site shows that it predates by more than 1,000 years any other port structure known in the world," Pierre Tallet, Egyptologist at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and director of the archaeological mission, told the Discovery News.

The harbour is considered one of the most important commercial ports where trading trips to export copper and other minerals from Sinai were launched.
A collection of vessel anchors carved in stone was also discovered as well as different docks.
Egypt's Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced that a collection of 40 papyri, showing details of daily life of ancient Egyptians during the 27th year of King Khufu's reign, was also unearthed during excavation.

"These are the oldest papyri ever found in Egypt," said Ibrahim.
He also stated that these papyri are very important because they reveal more information about the ancient Egyptians' daily life.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is a testament to Khufu's power, who died around 2566 BC.