Archaeologists Discover Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh's Fortified Royal Retreat
The archaeological site of the fortified royal retreat found in northern Sinai, Egypt. Preliminary research indicates that the site dates to the reign of King Thutmose III, one of Egypt’s greatest military commanders.
Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of an ancient Egyptian fortified royal retreat.
The mud-brick rest house was uncovered at the archaeological site of Tel Hebwa in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MTA) announced in a statement.
Preliminary research at the site has indicated that the structure dates back to the reign of King Thutmose III, the sixth pharaoh of ancient Egypt’s 18th Dynasty in the New Kingdom period.
Sometimes called Thutmose the Great, the pharaoh is thought to have ruled from 1479 B.C. until his death at the age of 56 in 1425 B.C. He is regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in history, helping to expand Egypt’s empire to its greatest extent thanks to a succession of victorious campaigns.
It is likely that the ancient building in Sinai was used as a royal rest house thanks to the architectural layout and the scarcity of pottery shards found inside, according to the MTA. The pharaoh himself may have used the facility during his military campaigns to expand the Egyptian empire to the east, researchers believe.
The building consists of two consecutive rectangular halls, accompanied by a number of rooms. It appears to have been fortified with a perimeter wall.
“This discovery is pivotal as it illuminates crucial aspects of Egypt’s military history, particularly in the Sinai region, during the New Kingdom era,” said Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, as reported by Ahram Online.
Archaeological work at the site also uncovered a number of burials, indicating that it was used as a cemetery during later periods in ancient Egyptian history.
The latest discovery is just one of many ancient finds reported from Egypt in recent months.
For example, archaeologists announced earlier this year that they had uncovered the missing upper part of a “huge” statue depicting an ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
A joint Egyptian-American archaeological mission discovered the statue part during excavations conducted at the southern border of the Khemenu/Hermopolis Magna archaeological site, Yvona Trnka-Amrhein, one of the leaders of the project, previously told Newsweek.
The ancient city of Khemenu was a provincial capital since Egypt’s Old Kingdom and developed into a major settlement during the Roman period.
In January, another team unearthed several ancient tombs with dozens of mummies—including some with golden tongues—at the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus, an extensive archaeological site located around 100 miles south-southwest of Cairo near the modern-day municipality of Al-Bahnasa in Minya Governorate.
Oxyrhynchus was “very important” during ancient Egypt’s Greco-Roman period, which spanned hundreds of years from the late fourth century B.C. until the 7th century, Esther Pons Mellado and Maite Mascort, co-directors of a Spanish archaeological mission at the site, previously told Newsweek.
“[It] was the second city of Egypt after Alexandria. There was a great business and cultural relationship between these two cities,” they said.
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