BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Largest Known Ancient Egyptian Fortress Excavated at Tell el-Habua

Excavations reveal 3,000-year-old fortifications

Excavations at Tell el-Habua have uncovered the largest known ancient Egyptian fortress. Photo: Courtesy Egyptian Antiquities Ministry.

The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry recently announced the excavation of a 3,000-year-old fortress at the site of Tell el-Habua (also known as Tel Habuwa and Tell Huba) near the Suez Canal in Egypt. The fortress at Tell el-Habua is the largest of its kind discovered in Egypt to date, The Cairo Post reports.

On a wall at the Karnak Temple in Luxor celebrating Pharaoh Seti I’s military achievements, illustrations depict the Way of Horus, a coastal road that once connected Egypt to Canaan. The road was known in the Book of Exodus as the “way of the land of the Philistines” (Exodus 13:17). Eleven fortresses appear to have been positioned along the Way of Horus, five of which have been excavated. The fortress at Tell el-Habua was part of this defensive line protecting the eastern front in New Kingdom Egypt (1580–1080 B.C.E.). Tell el-Habua is associated with the important ancient frontier town of Tjaru (also known as Tharu and Sile), described in Egyptian sources as the beginning point of the Way of Horus.

“The discovery [of the fortress] is significant, as it reflects the details of the ancient Egyptian military history,” excavation director Mohammed Abdel-Maqsoud told The Cairo Post. “It is a model example of ancient Egypt’s military architecture, as well as the Egyptian war strategies through different ages, for the protection of the entirety of Egypt.”

Read more in The Cairo Post.

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In the free eBook Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus, top scholars discuss the historical Israelites in Egypt and archaeological evidence for and against the historicity of the Exodus.