Fantastic discovery
beetle amulets and mud bricks bearing seals of Amenhotep III.
Hawass said 'a large fish covered in gold' may have been venerated.
Jose Galan, head of a separate Spanish archaeological mission near the Valley of the Kings, told AFP Saturday that the site was 'a fantastic discovery'.
"We are used to discoveries related to temples and tombs so we know about religious life and funerary habits. But we don't know much about settlements," he said.
The team have said they were optimistic that further important finds would be revealed, noting the discovery of groups of tombs reached through 'stairs carved into the rock', a similar construction to those found in the Valley of the Kings. But since the announcement, some scholars have disputed that Hawass and his team have succeeded where others had failed by locating the city.
Egyptologist Tarek Farag posted Friday on Facebook that the area was first excavated more than a century ago by a team from New York's Metropolitan Museum.
Waziri dismissed these concerns, saying previous digs had taken place further afield to the south the site.
After years of political instability following the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, which dealt a severe blow to its tourism industry, Egypt is seeking to bring back visitors, in particular by promoting its ancient heritage.
Last week, the mummified remains of 18 ancient kings and four queens were transported across Cairo from the Egyptian Museum in iconic Tahrir Square to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, in a procession dubbed the 'Pharaohs' Golden Parade' watched by millions.