3,200-Year-Old Inscription Points to Lost Egyptian City Mesn at Tell Abu Seifi
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Sep 4
3,200-Year-Old Inscription Points to Lost Egyptian City Mesn at Tell Abu Seifi
3 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Sep 4
Summary
A 3,200-year-old inscription at Tell Abu Seifi names Horus as "Lord of the City of Mesn," giving archaeologists fresh evidence that the site may be the long-lost Egyptian city.
The find gains weight because excavators also uncovered the remains of a Horus temple there, though the structure was almost completely destroyed and researchers say more work is needed.
Tell Abu Seifi sits near the ancient Way of Horus military road by the Suez Canal, a strategic route scholars say could fit Mesn's role as a staging point for campaigns into the Levant.
Outside experts called the case promising but not settled, noting similar Mesn inscriptions have appeared at other regional sites and suggesting Mesn may have covered a broader area.
Earlier Ptolemaic-period seals and coffins from Tell Abu Seifi also invoke "Horus, Lord of Mesen," indicating the cult and possibly the settlement endured for centuries.