Northern Sinai

Al Ahram Weekly

Nevine El-Aref takes a look at the historical importance of the route from Egypt accross northern Sinai and describes various New Kingdom forts as well as the newly discovered New Kingdom fortress of Tharos in North Sinai. The article is accompanied by photographs.

The fortified city of Qantara East (Sharq) in North Sinai is often hailed by historians as Egypt's eastern gateway to the Nile Delta. Its chequered history is a reminder of several military clashes from Pharaonic times to the early 1970s. . . .

Early in 2000, however, the town achieved repute as an extremely fruitful archaeological site when a number of ancient Egyptian monuments and artefacts came to light after a massive archaeological excavation project carried out by three archeological teams from Trinity University in the US, the Sorbonne in France and the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). These achievements came within the framework of a salvage operation of Sinai monuments caused by the threat posed to scores of sites by the new Al-Salam (Peace) Canal.

Over the past seven years the remains of several ancient objects have been discovered, among them a mud-brick temple, a number of bronze and limestone coins and scarabs featuring Osiris and Horus, and a cachet of limestone reliefs bearing the names of two royal personalities and two seated statues of differing sizes. The larger statue is made of limestone and belongs to a yet unidentified personage, but from its size and features archaeologists believe that it could be a statue of Horus, the god of the city. Weapons, pottery shards, grain silos, stables, storerooms, a dormitory for soldiers and dwellings were also discovered, along with military fortresses, citadels, churches, amphitheatres and baths. Slowly the idea of developing the Horus Road as a tourist attraction gained momentum.

At Tel Al-Farama (Pelusium) and the neighbouring sites at Tel Al-Makhzan and Kanais, which probably formed parts of Greater Pelusium, were also subjected to excavation work along with the area around the ancient port, the amphitheatre, the Byzantine church and the ruins of three more churches dating from the fourth and fifth centuries. The Horus Road was, of course, also the highway along which Christian pilgrims travelled, and there were churches from Rafah to Pelusium.

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