Egyptian authorities announced Wednesday the discovery of a group of structures and archaeological artifacts inside a military fortress at Tel el-Abqain in Beheira Governorate. Dating to the New Kingdom, the site documents aspects of soldiers’ lives and resource management along a defensive line established to secure the western frontier of ancient Egypt.
Residential Complex and Grain-Storage Facilities
Inside them, the mission found large pottery jars still containing charred wheat grains, along with cylindrical ovens used to prepare food and bake grain products for the soldiers’ daily needs. Near the well area in the fortress’s southeastern corner, the mission discovered limestone panels bearing inscriptions linked to the military and royal context.
Royal Inscriptions and a Scene of a Libyan Captive
Among the finds were fragments of a panel written in hieratic describing the power of King Merenptah, and a hieroglyphic panel recording the names of King Ramesses II, including his birth name, coronation name and Horus name. A wall scene was also found depicting a captive with bound hands and a bowed body in submission. According to the mission’s reading, details of his clothing indicate that he belonged to the Libyan Meshwesh tribes.
The finds also included scarabs bearing the names of Kings Ramesses II and Seti I, as well as the names of deities including Amun, Sekhmet, Ptah and Seth. The pieces reflect the presence of religious beliefs in soldiers’ lives and their seeking protection during their military duties.
The mission also found personal adornments and jewelry, which, together with the other discoveries, provide a picture of social and religious life inside the fortress, as well as its defensive functions and provisioning system for soldiers on ancient Egypt’s western frontier.
