Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni announced today that an Egyptian mission has discovered that an area to the north of Lake Qarun in the Faiyum region is rich in archaeological and paleontological remains dating back as far as 40 million years. Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the 10- kilometer-wide area is currently being explored to prevent valuable information from being lost to planned touristic development in the area.
Following a preliminary survey that began about a year ago, full-scale excavations have been underway since March 10, 2009. SCA archaeologists have found many artifacts in the area dating to the prehistoric period, including arrowheads and other finely crafted stone artifacts of Mousterian, Levallois, and Aterian type. They have also uncovered pottery and stone beads dating to the same era, along with the remains of shelters used by prehistoric hunters. Archaeological remains from later periods are also present in the area. A cemetery that most probably dates to the Greco-Roman period has yielded coins and other small artifacts. The team has explored a tomb in this cemetery consisting of a deep shaft ending in two chambers, but further excavation is hampered by constantly shifting sands. In addition to the prehistoric and Greco-Roman remains found in the area, the archaeologists have discovered pottery, pipes, coins, and glassware dating to the Fatimid and Mamluk periods. Other finds include medical and cosmetic tools, as well as stone shot used in hunting animals during the Islamic era.
Fossils of whales and other marine life dating back to around 40 million years ago have been found in the area. In addition to cetaceans like those found in the famous Valley of the Whales to the west of the Faiyum, the SCA team has uncovered the remains of sea cows and sawfish. These fossils are the remnants of a time when much of northern Egypt was submerged under an ancient sea.
SCA archaeologist Khaled Saad, who is supervising the excavations under the direction of Zahi Hawass, said that archaeological importance of the area was very great. Hawass added that the excavation was initiated in response to a plan by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism to build hotels and resorts on the northern shore of Lake Qarun. The ongoing SCA excavations will ensure that valuable archaeological evidence is not lost to development, while reinforcing the need to protect all of Egypt’s ancient monuments for the future.
Zahi Hawass, Egypt's pre-eminent archaeologist, and Secretary General of the  The Supreme Council of Antiquities, has announced that a rare statue constructed of white marble whose features resemble Alexander the Great has been discovered in Egypt. Hawass also stated that there are satellite photographs identifying many archeological sites which may also reveal buried monuments.

Alexander the Great 
Calliope Papacosta was leading the Greek archaeological excavation in Alexandria when the white marble statue was found.

"A ribbon around the head of the statue proves that it belongs to an important person for such ribbon was used only be''sic'' rulers," said Hawass, "The 80 cm long, 23 cm wide statue has been discovered eight meters deep under the earth surface." 
Salt Man Head in the Iran Bastan Museum
Farouk Hosni, Egypt’s Culture Minister, is supporting archaeological dig sites and has set into place laws restricting illegal digging in confirmed archaeological sites which may contain historical monuments.  The monument photography project, National Authority for Remote Sensing, Space Sciences (NARRS) and Mubarak City for Scientific Research (MuCSAT) combined Satellites technology, aerial photography and ground laser to locate 132 sites which have not yet been excavated.  

One of these sites is north of Lake Qarun in the Faiyum area, and another at Habu city.  Archaeologists are presently being sent out by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism to areas before construction and building excavations to preserve invaluable archaeological treasures. At the Faiyum site near Cairo artifacts dating to diverse time periods have been found amongst these, an awl for stitching leather, fishing tackle, weapons, jewellery, pottery, coins, sawfish, whale fossils, and a 3150 BC block portraying one of the two leaders named King Scorpion.

Meanwhile, in other archaeological news, Iran's three salt mummies found in the Chehrabad Salt Mine in 1993 will be moved to a technologically advanced vacuum chamber display case in Zanjan for better preservation.  These mummies or ''Salt Men'' have been dated as being from the Parthian 237 BCE - 224 CE and Sassanid era, 224 - 651 CE.