Military rest area in North Sinai – The past

The remains of a royal fortified military rest area were discovered at Tell Habwa (north Sinai) by a mission from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The team found the remains of a mudbrick building near the start of the “Way of Horus,” the ancient eastern route out of Egypt. Inscriptions found in the area date the structure to the reign of Tuthmosis III (c. 1479-1425 BC). The absence of pottery fragments inside and the architectural layout of the building, with two adjoining columned rooms and a number of other rooms, suggest that it was a royal palace and accommodation military for the king and his forces en route to the campaigns in the Levant region. . Other finds at the site include funerary vessels for child burials between the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, as well as a small earthenware plaque bearing the cartouche of Ahmose II (Amasis) from the 22nd Dynasty. Previous excavations in the area have uncovered other military rest houses dating from Thutmose III (reported in AE 89), Sety I and Ramses II.

Text: Sarah Griffiths / Image: © Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities