Nearly 25 years after its discovery, Egyptian authorities are preparing to open the ancient city of Leukaspis to the public. The site is a rare example of a Classical era city in a country better known for its pyramids and Pharaonic temples.

The ancient marina city, known as Leukaspis or Antiphrae, was hidden for centuries after it was nearly wiped out by a 4th Century tsunami that devastated the region.

More recently, it was nearly buried under the modern resort of Marina in a development craze that turned this coast into the summer playground for Egypt's elite.

About 200 acres were set aside for archaeology, and protected from development.

The ancient city yielded up its secrets in a much more gradual fashion to a team of Polish archaeologists who excavated the site through the 1990s.

Today, the remains of the port are lost. In the late 1990s, an artificial lagoon was built, surrounded by summer homes for top government officials.

However, Egyptian government interest in the site rose in the last few years, part of a renewed focus on developing the country's Classical past.

In 2005, a USAID project got underway to turn ancient Marina into an open air museum for tourists.

It couldn't have come at a better time for ancient Marina, which had long attracted covetous glances from real estate developers.

AbdEl Baset Abdel Fattah, Local Inspector for Antiquities Dept., said, "The importance of the discovery that it is a rare example of a Classical era Greco-Roman port city, everything is here unlike Alexandria. You may find tombs somewhere or houses in another place, but not connected like this site with everything all in one place."

Still, much needs to be done to achieve the government's target to open the site by mid-September, as ancient fragments of pottery still litter the ground and bones lie open in their tombs.

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