Tell Ras Budran is an Ancient Egyptian site on which an Ancient fort was built. The site is located in the Sinai peninsula and lies 150 meters away from the shore of the Gulf of Suez.
Location of Tell Ras Budran
Tell Ras Budran lies in Ras Sedr, El Tor Rd, Abu Radis, South Sinai Governorate.
History
The fort dates back to the Fourth dynasty during the 26th Century B.C. It was contemporary with the Wadi al-Jarf harbour on the other side of the Gulf of Suez. Thus, some suggest that the fort was related to the port since The pier used to be the headquarters for some mining expeditions in Sinai during the Great Pyramid‘s construction.
Layout
The fort is circular. Its inner diameter is about 30 meters, with a 5-meter-thick wall on average, which is 40 meters as an external diameter. The defence is among the earliest that have battlements and bastions.
Fort
El-Markha Plain is a key coastal region providing an anchorage for Egyptian expeditions travelling to the copper and turquoise mining region in South Sinai. The University of Toronto expedition investigated a mound at Ras Budran and uncovered the late Old Kingdom circular stone structure. It represents one of three Egyptian “forts” identified from the Early Dynastic through Old Kingdom period and augments two published Old Kingdom sites in South Sinai. It clarifies and underscores the perceived dangers and the importance of South Sinai to Egyptian mining expeditions during this period. It displays an unusual circular design for an ancient Egyptian structure and an uncommon stone application to a “fort.” Its construction, occupation, possible destruction, and abandonment reflect contemporary late Old Kingdom records for Egyptian campaigns against Asiatic “Sand-dwellers” and a Bedouin massacre of an Egyptian expedition beside the Red Sea. The site illuminates multiple aspects of a period associated with the Old Kingdom’s “collapse” and the activities and cross-cultural interactions of a transitory garrison on Egypt’s eastern frontier.
