How do you go about with scouting as Egyptian?

I recently started playing as Ra a bit because I like all the empowering (have much of a boost do Priests provide when empowering?) but, when starting as Eggy, you don't have any scouts, unless you include the priests but their obelisks cost gold which I'd rather spend on building a temple.

Should I put a labourer on gold even during the archaic age, and then put that gold into obelisks?

So far I've just been waiting for classical and scouting using the free myth unit.