Archaeologists Found a 3,000-Year-Old Fort in the Desert—and It Holds Evidence of a Pharaoh
The Tell Al-Abqain excavation site in northwest Egypt yielded a new military fort discovery that including stashed weapons, religious tributes, and military barracks.
The mudbrick structure features two identical sections, part of it used for daily rations storage as soldiers protected the land from Sea Peoples incursions.
The team discovered a bronze sword decorated with a carved inscription of Ramesses II.
The Egyptian military had a defense against the invading Sea Peoples during the New Kingdom Era. And it included a long bronze sword with inscriptions of Ramesses II.
The latest information comes as, in a recent statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the find of a military barracks and weapons storage complex in northwest Egypt.
The Tell Al-Abqain fort, located in the center of the Housh Issa area of the Beheria Governorate, features mudbrick architectural structures used to house everything from military personnel to the weapons and food they needed for survival. A key base during the New Kingdom Era of 1550 to 1070 BC on the Western War Road, according to Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary general of the Supreme Council for Archaeology, the fort was designed to provide protection for the northwest border from attacks by Libyan tribes and Sea Peoples, a collection of tribes that waged war in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age.
The newly discovered fort had two nearly identically designed structures separated by a small corridor. Evidenced by large pottery remnants that included fish and animal bones, Ayman Ashmawi, head of the Egyptian Archaeological Sector of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, confirmed the use of some of the areas as storage units for food for the soldiers, including large individual granaries. The researchers also found cylindrical pot ovens that cooked their last meal centuries ago. The experts point out how the architectural design shows off how the Egyptians adapted their building designs and practices to meet the practical needs of the user while working within the landscape.
But the excavation of the fort did not just shed light on the fort’s food supplies; the discovery also delivered a history of war and hunting. The archaeological team discovered a long bronze sword decorated with the engravings of Ramesses II, one of Egypt’s more notable pharaohs from the 1200s BC, along with additional weapons, tools for hunting, and a host of personal items, whether ornamental or for hygiene, such as ivory tinsel, beads, and agate jars.
All the discoveries were apt finds for a fort housing the army for an indefinite time, stocked to attend to daily needs and keep them equipped to ward off intruders, such as the feared Sea Peoples, considered a “confederacy of naval raiders,” common between 1276 and 1178 BC.
The excavation also unearthed a series of religious or spiritual finds. The team discovered the burial of a cow, a symbol of power, abundance, and prosperity, as well as two blocks of limestone, one with a hieroglyphic inscription of King Ramesses II, the other of an official named Bay. Other discoveries included a scarab engraved with the inscription: “Amun—Lord of the Sky,” additional scarabs celebrating deities and flowers, such as the lotus, half a bronze ring inscribed with “Amun Horakhty,” necklaces made of faience, and carnelian shaped like pomegranate blossoms.
Given that the fort still had plenty of materials to find, one might guess that the stationed soldiers were successful in their protective mission. But, for one reason or another, the complex was abandoned and then lost to time—until now, when experts can begin to dig into its past.
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