Cairo, Jul 2 (IANS): Italian and Egyptian experts have discovered the ruins of a city that dates back to the Greco-Roman era in the province of al-Bahira, north-east of Cairo, Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damati said.
The remains were discovered under a thick layer of silt in the Kom al-Ahmar area, some 25 km south of the Rashid, a tributary of the Nile, the minister said in a statement, reports EFE.
Magnetic exploration of the site revealed that the area contained several buildings, surrounded by an enormous rectangular wall, that were probably dedicated to administrative and religious uses.
This discovery has historical importance because it reflects daily life during that period between 343 B.C. and 395 A.D., al-Damati said.
"As an outstanding prototype of the Greco-Roman style," he said, the site reveals "further details about the architectural nature of these cities".
A member of the Egyptian element of the mixed team, Mohamed Qanaui, said that the first part of the research indicates that construction of the city began in the Late Period of ancient Egypt (724-343 B.C.).
The excavations were carried out by a mixed team from the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry and the Italo-Egyptian Archeology Centre.