At the Tell Edfu settlement, archaeologists discovered seal impressionssmall clay objects used like rubber stamps to mark goods and documentsthat had been discarded on the floor of a 16-columned hall (circular column bases visible above).

The The hall may have been part of a governor's palace built as early as the 12th dynasty, which lasted from 1985 B.C. to 1773 B.C., according to archaeologists who announced the find on July 2, 2008.

For generations, the palace served as the administrative and commercial center of the settlement, providing accounting services and a secure location to open sealed items like papyrus letters, wooden boxes, and baskets, the researchers speculate.

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