Archaeologists discover massive ancient Egyptian fortress

When you think of ancient Egypt, you might imagine towering pyramids, majestic temples, and the noseless Great Sphinx of Giza. But the iconic civilization produced many more architectural marvels than the monuments it’s best known for today, and one such example has just come to light in the sands of the Sinai. 

Archaeologists working in the northern region of Sinai—the Egyptian peninsula bordering Israel—have discovered a military fort from ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom era (1550–1077 BCE) along the Horus Military Road. Also known as the “Way of Horus,” it was a chain of ancient Egyptian fortifications in North Sinai created during the New Kingdom. The recently discovered fort is one of the chain’s biggest and most important, according to a social media post by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

“The fortresses likely served as rest stops for trade caravans moving into Egypt, but also as places to reprovision the Egyptian army when it went on campaign across the Near East,” Nicky Nielson, an Egyptologist from the University of Manchester who wasn’t involved in the discovery, tells Popular Science. 

The archaeological excavation unearthed defensive towers; portions of the northern, western, and southern walls; a distinctive New Kingdom wall surrounding a residential area for soldiers; and pottery shards and vessels, including a handle with the name of Thutmose I, a pharaoh from the 18th-dynasty (around 1539 to 1292 BCE). They also found a large bread oven and fossilized dough, confirming that soldiers lived out their daily lives in the fortress. 

“Bread was very much a staple of the Egyptians – bread and beer specifically,” Nielson explains. “There are some slightly later texts (reign of Ramesses II) which talk about provisioning the army, and bread is mentioned as the key food.”