Lost pyramids spotted from space

Lots of pyramids, tombs and ancient settlements, hidden under the ground in Egypt, have been spotted - from SPACE.

17 pyramids and over 3,000 ancient settlements were found using satellites more than 400 miles above the Earth. The satellites had powerful infra-red cameras that enabled them to see the underground buildings.

Archaeologist Dr Sarah Parcak and her team in the US made the discoveries. "I couldn't believe we could locate so many sites all over Egypt," she said. Sarah travelled to Egypt to see if excavations of the sites could be done to uncover what her photos were showing.

In the area of Saqqara in Egypt, the authorities weren't interested in Sarah's findings at first. But after making test excavations, they now believe it's one of the most important archaeological sites in the country.

Match the words below to their definitions

Archaeologist / authorities / excavations / findings / settlements / tombs

large stone buildings or underground rooms where people are buried
places where people live
someone who studies how people lived in the past
places where people dig to find things from the past
government officials who enforce rules
information which is discovered during a study

True or false?

1. This is the first time that pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.
2. You can see things from space that you can’t see when you are on the ground.
3. The team also discovered ancient sites in the US.
4. The authorities made test excavations at the sites Sarah found.
5. Authorities already knew about the sites and so weren’t interested.
6. Sarah could not get permission to travel to Egypt.
7. Some of the sites the team found were in Saqqara.
8. Many of the ancient sites that were found were buried.


What is the missing word?

1. The satellites had ___________ infra-red cameras.
2. I couldn't believe we could ___________ so many sites.
3. The authorities weren't ___________ in Sarah's findings at first.
4. It's one of the most ___________ archaeological sites in the country.





KEY

True or false?
1. False
2. True
3. False
4. True
5. False
6. False
7. True
8. True

Vocabulary

tombs large stone buildings or underground rooms where people are buried
settlements places where people live
archaeologist someone who studies how people lived in the past
excavations places where people dig to find things from the past
authorities government officials who enforce rules
findings information which is discovered during a study

What is the missing word?

1. powerful
2. locate
3. interested
4. important