3,500-year-old 'rest house' used by ancient Egyptian army discovered in Sinai desert

By Owen Jarus published 7 hours ago

A 3,500-year-old rest house in the Sinai desert may have been used by an Egyptian pharaoh.



Photographs of a the remains of a 3,500-year-old rest house, marked by rectangular holes in the ground. Archaeologists excavate the site.
Archaeologists excavate the remains of a 3,500-year-old rest house that may have been used by ancient Egyptian forces. (Image credit: Courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)

Egyptologists have discovered the remains of a "rest house" in the northern Sinai desert. The structure may have temporarily housed ancient Egyptian forces, and possibly even royalty, during the reign of Thutmose III, or from about 1479 to 1425 B.C.

Ancient Egyptian rulers often launched military campaigns into the eastern Mediterranean, and one route Egyptian troops frequently took to reach the region was through the Sinai desert.



It's possible that royalty used this compound as well, but evidence is sparse. (Image credit: Courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)

"It is likely that this building had been used as a royal respite due to the architectural planning of the building and the scarcity of pottery fractures [broken pottery] inside," the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a translated statement. The lack of broken pottery meant that pottery construction likely didn't occur in the structure and that the building was kept clean. This suggests that it wasn't a typical domestic structure.

The building contains two rectangular hallways and a number of rooms branching off of them, the statement said. A hieroglyphic inscription found in the building indicates that the rest house dates to the time of Thutmose III. M

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https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/ancient-egyptians/3500-year-old-rest-house-used-by-ancient-egyptian-army-discovered-in-sinai-desert