2000 · 36 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesArea StudiesHistoryMiddle Eastern HistoryMiddle Eastern StudiesNear Eastern ArchaeologyFortified SettlementsMiddle Eastern ArchaeologyCoastal FortificationsEastern Mediterranean ContextFortified Settlement AnalysisFortress ArchitectureMediterranean FortificationsSecond Intermediate Period ChronologyThird Intermediate Period Chronology
Tell Abqa'in, south-east of Alexandria, is almost certainly the site of one of a chain of forts on the margin of the Western Delta and out to the west along the coast, constructed during the reign of Ramesses II in response to the growing threat created by general political and military instability in the eastern Mediterranean towards the end of the Late Bronze Age. Since 1996 a Liverpool University team has been working to establish any similarities between this and the coastal fortress site at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. Interesting comparisons can be made between the defensive foundations at both sites, with Abqa'in also containing the added complexity of later, Third Intermediate Period occupation.