Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the ruins of an ancient fortress which is believed to be dating back to the 26th Dynasty, the last dynasty in which native Egyptians ruled before the Persians conquered the country in 525 B.C. Researchers from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities have uncovered parts of the mud-brick stronghold including the northeastern and southeastern towers at the Tell El-Kedwa site in North Sinai.

Archaeologists had originally excavated the site in 2008, but as the fortress is very large, it has taken them until this year to uncover more of its remains. The researchers believe
that since the location was ideal militarily, another military outpost was built on top of
the original remains of the first fortress. According to the Egyptian Supreme Council of
Antiquities the original fortress is believed to be one of the oldest fortresses discovered.

Archaeologists report that the walls of the older fortress are exceptionally thick, measuring nearly 23 feet (7 meters) in width. The excavation also uncovered an almost 280-foot-long (85 m) wall on the fortress’s southern side and the remains of houses within the western part of the fortress. One of these houses had an amulet with the name of King Psamtik I, who fought the Assyrians and reunited the country when he founded the 26th Dynasty. He died in 610 B.C.

In addition, the archaeologists revealed the presence of an ancient entrance to the fortress, in the form of a side gate on the northeastern side of the wall, and to the right of this entrance are the remains of the room that may have been occupied by guards who monitored the gate.