Remains of ancient Roman city found in Egyptian city of Luxor

The remains of an ancient Roman city have been found near the Egyptian city of Luxor, containing residential and civic buildings dating back to the second and third centuries of the common era, Egyptian antiquities authorities announced Tuesday.

Archaeologists are considering the site, which is only the northern portion of the Roman city, as a continuation of ancient Luxor, known as Thebes to the Greeks and Romans and Waset to the native Egyptian population. 

Luxor hosts a number of older Pharaonic ruins as well, including the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.

The buildings found at the site included houses, workshops, and two towers used to house and coordinate the use of messenger pigeons. The workshops still contained artifacts of daily life, including pots, tools and Roman coins made of copper and bronze.

“It is important because it shows us more about the life of regular Egyptians at this time,” Director General of Antiquities of Upper Egypt Fathy Yaseen told CBS News.

The Roman site dates earlier than any other archaeological locations in its part of the city, and is “the oldest and most important city found on the eastern bank of Luxor,” Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities noted, according to art magazine ARTnews.