Ancient Fortress City Unearthed in Egypt

[Adsos Letter]

Source: DiscoveryNews
Rossella Lorenzi



July 14, 2009 -- Egyptian archaeologists digging near the Suez Canal have discovered the remains of what is believed to be the largest fortress in the eastern Delta, Egypt's Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, announced.

Located at the site of Tell Dafna, between El-Manzala Lake and the Suez Canal, the remains reveal the foundation of a military town about 15 kilometers (nine miles) northeast of the city of western Qantara.

"The fortress covers an area of about 380 by 625 meters (1,247 by 2,051 feet), while the enclosure wall is about 13 meters (43 feet) in width," Mohamed Abdel Maksoud, head of the Central Department of Lower Egyptian Antiquities and the director of the mission, said in a statement.

The discovery shouldn't come as a surprise; Tell Dafna was long known to be a strategic outpost against Egypt's enemies. King Ramesses II of the 19th Dynasty (1279-1212 B.C.) chose the site to erect a fortress. King Psammetichus I, the first ruler of the 26th Dynasty (664-625 B.C.), later established a garrison of foreign mercenaries to defend the eastern borders of Egypt from invaders.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/07/14/egypt-fortress-city.html

[lapfog_1]

1. It didn't have a map room with a hole in the ceiling

for sunlight to come in at a particular time on a particular date and a matrix of holes in the ground where you placed a staff of Ra with a headpiece and a crystal and...

oh, never mind.

[TexasObserver]

2. Recommend

[emilyg]

3. R

[xchrom]

4. wow! that is amazing1 nt

[aquart]

5. "Greek mercenaries" as if all Greeks were alike. Good grief.

[Posteritatis]

6. Close enough if you're looking at recruits by region

All Egyptians weren't alike, but nobody in their right mind would be offended at someone talking about Egyptian mercenaries. Also, most kingdoms and empires with multinational forces would not-quite segregate them by keeping them in discrete units with distinct barracks and so on. If you find an Egyptian fortress that predates Alexander, is laid out in ways simiilar to Greek camps or fortifications, and has Greek artifacts and weapons with Greek writing on them, I think you can say that there might have been mercenaries from Greece there even if you can't specify the specific deme they came from.

tl,dr: you sound like you're actively seeking something to be offended by, and are wrong and silly for doing so in this case.

[aquart]

7. A Spartan soldier or an Athenian soldier, which to choose?

Damn well does make a difference.

But I was looking for clarity, not offense. I had a specific reason for being annoyed at the kindergarten-level generality. The Egyptians employed many mercenaries. I don't know how much we know about their origins but "Greek" could be a catch all for a very large area.