A residential complex, grain-storage facilities, ovens, and what appears to be an honorific horse burial have been uncovered at Tell el-Abqain.

For the first time in excavations in the Beheira archaeological region, researchers also discovered a fragment of a stela bearing a hieratic text of King Merneptah.

The Egyptian archaeological mission working at Tell el-Abqain in Beheira Governorate has uncovered a significant group of structures and archaeological finds that shed new light on military and everyday life, as well as urban planning, within ancient Egyptian fortresses. The discoveries confirm the site’s strategic importance as a military stronghold along the western frontier of the Nile Delta during the New Kingdom, where it protected Egypt from attacks by Libyan tribes.

Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said the discovery adds a new dimension to our understanding of the military fortification system the ancient Egyptians established to defend the country’s borders. He noted that the residential buildings, storage facilities, and diverse artifacts uncovered by the mission provide a broader picture beyond the fortress’s military role, revealing aspects of the daily, economic, and religious lives of those who inhabited it.

The minister also praised the work of Egyptian archaeological missions and the discoveries they continue to make, emphasizing the Ministry’s commitment to supporting excavations and scientific research at archaeological sites and to preserving, studying, and documenting newly uncovered remains according to the latest scientific methods.

Dr. Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that excavations revealed a large mud-brick residential complex. Along its northern side, archaeologists uncovered a main street about four meters wide, running east to west and intersected by another street running south to north. Its principal entrance was connected to the fortress’s southern entrance, which was constructed of limestone. This layout reflects careful urban and architectural planning within the fortress.

The residential complex was divided into several rooms containing silos for storing grain and cylindrical pottery ovens used for preparing food and baking grain products, meeting the everyday needs of the fortress’s inhabitants. These features indicate an integrated system for provisioning and managing resources.

A further group of residential rooms was discovered near the well area in the southeastern corner of the fortress. Researchers had previously found three stone wells bearing inscriptions with the titles of King Ramesses II there, suggesting a residential zone linked to daily activities and access to the site’s water supply.

Mohamed Abdel Badie, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, stated that some of the newly discovered rooms, particularly those north of the main street, had been used for storing wheat. Researchers found large pottery jars containing carbonized wheat grains inside them, providing direct evidence of food storage and resource management, as well as the economic and subsistence activities carried out within the fortress.

Among the most remarkable discoveries was the complete burial of a young male horse. Preliminary studies indicate that it belonged to a medium-sized type characterized by agility and speed. Horses of this kind may have been used for training, military activities, or pulling chariots during the New Kingdom.

The completeness of the horse’s skeleton, the orientation of its head, and the orderly arrangement of the burial indicate that the animal was deliberately and carefully interred, suggesting that this may have been an honorific burial. A few meters from the room containing the horse, archaeologists found cylindrical pieces of alabaster and limestone. These are thought to have formed part of the decorative fittings of a chariot horse’s harness, providing further evidence of the site’s military character and the use of chariots there.

Khaled Abdel Ghani Farhat, Director-General of Beheira Antiquities and supervisor of the excavations, explained that, for the first time in the history of archaeological excavations in the Beheira region, the mission discovered part of a limestone stela preserving a hieratic text associated with King Merneptah. The inscription describes the king’s strength, comparing it with that of the god Seth, and also refers to the creator god Ptah.

The mission also discovered the remains of a limestone stela inscribed in hieroglyphs with the birth name, throne name, and Horus name of King Ramesses II. Another stela bears a scene depicting a captive with his body bent in submission and his hands bound. His clothing suggests he was a Libyan prisoner from the Meshwesh people.

The discoveries also included several scarabs that shed light on the fortress’s inhabitants’ religious identity. Some bear the names of Kings Ramesses II and Seti I, while others carry the names and titles of deities including Amun, Sekhmet, Ptah, and Seth, suggesting the importance of these gods in everyday life and their invocation for protection.

Researchers also uncovered a collection of religious amulets associated with protection, fertility, regeneration, and power. These include amulets in the form of a fish, lotus flower, cobra, the nefer sign, and a baboon, illustrating the important role religious beliefs played in the lives of the soldiers and other inhabitants of the fortress.

The archaeological finds also included a diverse assemblage of pottery vessels and sherds used for storage, cooking, serving food, and holding perfumes and oils. Among them was a pilgrim flask associated with pilgrimage to Abydos. Other objects relate to everyday activities, including loom weights used in textile production, fragments of querns and stone grinding implements, and balance weights.

Researchers also recovered personal ornaments and jewelry, offering insights into the social life and aesthetic tastes of the site’s inhabitants.

Taken together, these discoveries provide a more complete picture of the community that lived within the fortress—a population whose lives combined military duties with religious practices and the varied activities of everyday life.

The Egyptian archaeological mission continues excavating, studying, and documenting the site in hopes of uncovering more elements of the fortress and developing a more complete archaeological and historical understanding of Tell el-Abqain and its role in the defense system protecting Egypt’s western frontier during the New Kingdom.