Overview

• Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced a fortress discovery at Tell El-Kharouba near Sheikh Zuweid on the Mediterranean coast.
• The site spans about 8,000 square meters, roughly triple the size of a fort documented at the same location in the 1980s.
• Excavations revealed a 344-foot southern wall about eight feet wide, 11 towers, a gateway over seven feet wide, and a 246-foot zigzag wall.
• Ceramics from the early 18th Dynasty and a vessel handle bearing Thutmose I’s cartouche date the complex, with finds such as a bread oven and petrified dough indicating garrison life.
• Officials cite evidence of multiple reconstruction phases and imported volcanic stone suggesting wide trade links, with further work planned to expose remaining walls and investigate a nearby military port.