Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered a large stone lintel inscribed with the titles of Pharaoh Ramesses II inside an ancient temple near Egypt's eastern border. The find could help confirm the location of Mesen, a city from ancient Egyptian texts that has never been definitively identified.
The discovery was made during an Egyptian mission at Tell Abu Seifi, near Qantara East. The excavation is part of a project studying the ancient Way of Horus, a military route that once protected Egypt's eastern frontier and linked settlements and defensive outposts with the Sinai Peninsula.
A wall that reshapes the site's layout
The team, working under the supervision of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, spent this season excavating a large mudbrick wall that had previously been interpreted as part of the temple itself. Researchers now believe it is instead the outer wall of the sacred enclosure, a reinterpretation that gives a clearer picture of how the complex was originally laid out.
Egyptian authorities said the results are part of a broader effort to document archaeological sites across northern Sinai and the Qantara region. They also pointed to the historical importance of the area in defending Egypt's eastern frontier and its role within the ancient Way of Horus.
The temple's layout and the Ramesses II inscription come to light
Hisham El-Leithy, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said this season's work built on decades of earlier excavations at the site. He said that groundwork had allowed the team to review some earlier findings with greater precision and better reconstruct the site's original layout.
The mission identified two stone paths leading to the temple. The older one dates to the Ptolemaic period, while a narrower Roman path was later built on top of it. Archaeologists also found storerooms in the northern sector, larger service rooms to the south, and a sanctuary in the interior area.
One of the most significant discoveries was a large sandstone lintel, broken in two. Three of its faces carry inscriptions bearing the titles of Ramesses II. The text also refers to restoration work carried out on a statue of the god Horus, identified as Lord of the city of Mesen.
That reference is especially significant because ancient Egyptian texts place a settlement called Mesen on the eastern frontier during the New Kingdom. The inscription strengthens the hypothesis that Tell Abu Seifi could correspond to that ancient city.
Statues and Roman kilns reveal the site's different phases
Among the other objects recovered was part of a schist statue depicting a scribe of the army from the 26th Dynasty, shown holding a fragmented shrine. Researchers also found a headless statue, a royal basalt torso, and fragments of falcon representations carved from basalt and limestone.
The temple reached its main architectural development during the Ptolemaic period. In the third century AD, part of the complex was reused as a Roman military camp, known as a castrum. The site later lost its religious function and became a limestone quarry.
Two large circular kilns were built over the destroyed areas of the sanctuary. Inside them, researchers found limestone remains affected by high temperatures, evidence that the once-sacred enclosure had been turned into a site for industrial activity.
What comes next
Researchers say the new findings support, though do not yet definitively confirm, the hypothesis that Tell Abu Seifi corresponds to ancient Mesen. Future archaeological campaigns will look for further evidence to help clarify the settlement's identity and reconstruct its evolution over the centuries.
