A Libyan artefact dating back to the pre-Roman era has been found at the archaeological site “Kerkour” in the Seriana region of the Algerian province of Batna, the Algerian news agency reported on Monday.

The agency quoted the head of the Algerian Culture and Arts, Omar Kebour, as saying that the importance of this piece lies in the fact that the site may be part of a larger archaeological area in the Seriana region, which dates back to a period before the Roman presence in the region.

Kebour indicated that this is the second artefact piece to be discovered at the same site, where the first piece was found two years ago, noting it is currently kept in the Timgad Museum.

The Algerian director of culture and arts stressed that this piece is new evidence that confirms the validity of what some archaeologists said years ago that all the archaeological sites in the region are not Roman.

"This highlights the likelihood that the inhabitants of this area have reached the apex of civilization over the ages, which is writing," Kebour explains.