A US archaeological team uncovered an ancient Egyptian administrative building and silos dating back to the 17th dynasty (ca. 1665-1569 BC) along with an older columned hall in the southern Egyptian town of Edfu, Egypt's antiquities department announced Tuesday. With sixteen wooden columns, the layout of the mud-brick hall shows that it might been part of a governor's palace, Egypt's antiquities chief, Zahi Hawas said. The hall, which predates the silos, had been used by scribes for accounting, opening and receiving letters, Hawas explained. Pottery and seals that date back to the 13th dynasty (c. 1786-1665 BC) were discovered in the hall. A US archeological team from the University of Chicago carried out the excavation work. "Scarab seals found inside the hall are decorated with spiral patterns and hieroglyphic symbols including ankh sign, also known as key of life," said head of the American mission, Nadine Moeller. The discovery reflects the Egyptian political situation at the time when the small kingdom of Thebes controlled Upper Egypt, Moeller said.