Min.: Ancient military fortress discovered in Tal el-Kedwah

CAIRO - 14 May 2019: The Egyptian archeological expedition working in Tal el-Kedwah in northern Sinai unearthedthe remains of an ancient fortress that spans back to the 26thdynasty.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mustafa Waziri stated that the excavations are part of the Sinai Development Project. Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector Ayman Ashmawy explained that the mission was able to uncover the remains of an ancient citadel, including the tower of the northeastern corner and the remains of the southeastern corner tower; that is in addition to the extension of the south wall of the citadel.

The mission uncovered theeastern wall of the oldest historic citadel in 2008. Another citadel was built on its ruins andhas been discovered recently.Furthermore, Head of the Central Department of Antiquities Nadia Khedr explained that the older castle was constructed in a different way from the newer castle. The older castle'swalls were about 7 meters in width whereas the walls of the newer citadel were about 11 meters wide. The newer fortress has 16 towers, while the oldercastle is believed to have fourcorner towers, according to available information.

In addition, Khedr added that that the walls of the older castle differ in their design. Rooms filled with sand and broken pottery and rubble were built inside the walls at regular intervals to relieve pressure on the wall of the castle. These rooms might havealso been used as rainwater drains, a feature of architecture during the Sawy period. It is also likely that the older castle was built on alarger area.

Director General of North Sinai Antiquities Hisham Hussain noted that excavations in the northeastern part of the discovered fortress wall resulted in the discovery of the entrance ofthe castle, which is a side gate located in the northeastern part of the wall. The gate leads to a ground slope and the remains of what is believed to be a guard room for Egyptian soldiers. The room was also believed to have been used to protect the gate.

Moreover, the excavation also revealed remains of houses built on the western side of the castle. A fragment of an amulet bearing the name of King Psamtik I was found inside one of the discovered houses,which confirms the preliminary results of the study of pottery and archaeological remains that prove that the oldercastle dates back to the first half of the 26th dynasty.

It should be noted that the fortress was attacked and its walls were destroyed. The military fortress of Tal el-Kedwawas located on the eastern Egyptian borders and was the only fortress controlling the entry and exit to and from Egypt during the Sawi era. It was also a fortified point defending the eastern gate of Egypt.