Fortress reveals ancient Egyptian control of trade route
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Archaeologists from Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities discovered a large New Kingdom fortress near the modern border with Gaza in the Sinai Peninsula.
The fortress guarded the Way of Horus, a crucial trade route connecting Egypt to the Near East during the period from approximately 1570 to 1069 BCE. This road was important because it linked Egypt with its territories in the Levant and served as one of the few paths across the Sinai.
The newly discovered fortress measures roughly 86,000 square feet and includes a southern wall almost 350 feet long and eight feet thick. Excavators identified eleven defensive towers along the wall and also found sections of the northern and western walls. A winding wall, 250 feet long, protected a residential area within the fortress. During the dig, the team also found pottery, volcanic stones originating from the Aegean islands, a large oven for baking bread, and remnants of ancient dough.
A pottery handle bore the name of Pharaoh Thutmose I, who ruled from 1506 to 1493 BCE. Researchers determined the fortress was built and modified over a long period, and they hope to uncover a related military port during future excavations, as a smaller fortress was previously found nearby.
