Qantara east: A new discovery at Tell Abu Seify in Qantara East has shed light on Egypt's Ancient Horus Military Road and the lost city of Masn. Among the significant finds is a large sandstone lintel, broken into two pieces and inscribed on three sides with the titles of King Ramesses II. The inscription also mentions restoration work on a statue of Horus, Lord of the City of Masn, providing crucial evidence in the ongoing effort to establish the identity of the ancient settlement.
According to State Information Service Egypt, the current excavations have led to a reassessment of the architectural remains uncovered during earlier seasons. The mission continued work on a massive mudbrick enclosure wall, including gateways, internal rooms, and successive construction layers. Studies have established that the structure was the outer enclosure surrounding the temple precinct, rather than the temple itself, correcting earlier interpretations of parts of the site.
Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that the new evidence presents a strong hypothesis linking Tell Abu Seifi to the ancient city of Masn, although further excavation and scientific research will be necessary before the identification can be conclusively established. The mission also uncovered two successive stone-paved roads leading from outside the fortified area into the temple. The earlier road dates to the Ptolemaic Period, while a narrower Roman road was later built over it.
Additional temple remains include a series of storage rooms on the northern side and larger service rooms to the south, leading toward the sanctuary. The sanctuary was later destroyed, apparently due to quarrying activities during the Late Roman Period. Mohamed Abdel Badie, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the discoveries provide further evidence of the site's changing functions and its strategic importance.
He added that among the finds is part of a schist statue dating to the 26th Dynasty, depicting an army scribe carrying a broken naos. The mission also uncovered a headless and footless statue from the Late Period, the torso of a royal basalt statue, and fragments of falcon statues made of basalt and limestone. 'The archaeological evidence shows that the site underwent several phases of development,' Abdel Badie pointed out, adding that the temple reached its architectural peak during the Ptolemaic Period, before parts of the complex were reused as a military castrum during the third century AD.
By the Late Roman Period, the site had been transformed into a lime-production quarry. Excavations revealed two large circular kilns built over the corners of the sanctuary, containing limestone remains that had been subjected to intense heat. The Ramesses II lintel and its reference to Horus, Lord of Masn, are particularly significant for determining the site's identity, while the administrative and military objects discovered at the site further underline its strategic character.
Taken together with discoveries from previous excavation seasons, the latest evidence strengthens the hypothesis that Tell Abu Seifi may be the location of Masn, an ancient Egyptian city mentioned in texts dating to the New Kingdom. The findings so far portray Tell Abu Seifi as a major station along the Horus Military Road, where military, religious, and economic functions developed successively over centuries, reflecting the site's strategic importance on Egypt's eastern frontier and its enduring religious significance from the Pharaonic through the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.