Biblical discovery in Egypt as name of pharaoh linked to Moses is found carved into ancient beam

Archaeologists have uncovered a stone beam etched with the name of an Egyptian pharaoh, who many scholars believe is mentioned in the biblical story of Moses.

Excavations at Tell Abu Saifi, 90 miles northeast of Cairo, found ruins that may have belonged to the lost city of Mesen, which stood along an ancient military road linked to the biblical Exodus. 

A range of artifacts was unearthed, including a 3,000-year-old stone bearing the name of King Ramses II, who is linked to Moses because the Exodus says the enslaved Israelites built a city bearing his name. 

The ancient beam, or lintel, was broken into two pieces and inscribed on three sides with hieroglyphics bearing the pharaoh’s titles.

The inscription also refers to restoration work carried out on a statue of Horus, described as ‘Lord of the City of Mesen,’ providing important evidence in the ongoing effort to establish the identity of the ancient settlement. 

Mesen’s connection to Exodus comes from its location along the Horus Military Road, which linked Egypt with the Sinai Peninsula and Canaan.

Some scholars associate that route with the ‘way of the land of the Philistines’ mentioned in Exodus.

However, the Bible states that the Israelites were deliberately led away from the road because God feared they would turn back to Egypt if they encountered war.

The discovery therefore does not prove that Moses or the Israelites passed through Mesen, and the ancient city is not named in the Bible.

Ramses II is also not explicitly identified as the pharaoh of the Exodus. 

The pharaoh, who ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC, was known for his military power and strategic genius, leading an army of around 100,000 men strong.

People often identify Ramesses II as the biblical Pharaoh primarily due to Exodus 1:11, which mentions Hebrew slaves building the city of ‘Raamses’ (or Pi-Ramesses), a city famously built by Ramesses II in the 13th century BCE.

While the Bible does not explicitly name the Pharaoh, this geographical link, combined with his long, dominant reign and the timing of the 19th Dynasty, makes him a popular historical candidate, often reinforced by popular media.

Egyptian officials said the newly found inscription ‘presents a strong archaeological and historical hypothesis linking the site to the ancient Egyptian city of Mesen.’

Archaeologists also uncovered the remains of a fortified temple complex surrounded by a mudbrick wall and gates.

Storage rooms and two stone roads leading into the temple were found alongside fragments of falcon statues and other sculptures.

The settlement continued to be used long after Ramses II’s rule, with parts of the site converted into Roman military barracks during the third century AD.

Mohamed Abdel Badie, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said: ‘The archaeological evidence shows that the site underwent several phases of development.’

Further evidence of the settlement’s military importance emerged in a series of sculptures recovered from the ruins.

Among them was a section of a schist statue from Egypt’s 26th Dynasty showing an army scribe holding a damaged naos, or small shrine.

Mahmoud Galal, who led the excavation and serves as Director General of Sinai Antiquities, said the objects reflected both the military and administrative activity that once took place at the site.

The team also recovered the torso of a royal figure carved from basalt, a Late Period statue missing its head and feet, and pieces of limestone and basalt falcon sculptures.

In April, a team excavating a site in Egypt’s eastern Nile Delta found part of an ancient statue depicting Ramesses II.

Part of the large statue, including its legs and base, was discovered at Tel Faraoun, just northwest of the Red Sea, during ongoing excavations led by the country’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The unearthed fragment stands about seven feet tall and is estimated to weigh between five and six tons, according to officials overseeing the dig.

Although parts of the statue are worn and damaged, archaeologists said enough detail remains to link it to royal sculptures created during Egypt’s New Kingdom period, which lasted from about 1550 to 1070 BC.

Early analysis suggests the statue may not have originally been carved for the site where it was discovered.

Researchers believe it could have been transported from Pi-Ramesses, the grand royal city established by Ramesses II in the Nile Delta.