Roman Senate Building Unearthed in Egypt

CAIRO, EGYPT—Egypt Independent reports the discovery in North Sinai of a large rectangular building dating to the Roman period at the ancient city of Pelusium. According to Mostafa al-Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the red-brick and limestone building’s location in the city and the remains of circular marble seating indicate that it was used as a senate building, where elected representatives gathered when the area was under Roman control. A gate on the structure’s eastern side provided access to the city’s main thoroughfare. In the fifth and sixth centuries A.D., columns, bricks, and mosaic tiles were removed from the building and reused in new construction. For more on Roman Egypt, go to “Hidden Blues.”