BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Recent digging has confirmed the site of a 1,600-year-old metropolis 200 miles south of Cairo that was first spotted by satellites hovering over Egypt, archaelogists say.

    The find is part of a larger project to map as much of ancient Egypt's archaeological sites, or "tells," as possible before they are destroyed or covered by modern development.

    "It is the biggest site discovered so far," said project leader Sarah Parcak of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "Based on the coins and pottery we found, it appears to be a massive regional center that traded with Greece, Turkey and Libya."

    Another large city dating to 600 B.C. and a monastery from 400 A.D. are some of the four hundred or so sites that Parcak has located during her work with the satellites. The oldest dates back more than 5,000 years.

    Most of the ancient settlements still buried are at risk of being lost to looting and urban sprawl. Residential sites, where the Egyptian empire's millions of citizens lived are especially vulnerable, archaeologists say.

    "There are thousands of settlements that Egyptians don't even know are there," Parcak told LiveScience. "Nothing will ever destroy the Pyramids or the Temple of Luxor, but these huge settlement sites where we get a lot of information are being threatened. And that's how we find out how people lived."

    (Agencies)