Abstract
The primary function of fortresses, and various kinds of fortifications, is to control and protect important sites/areas, but they are also very potent symbols of political and economic power. Many sources both archaeological and written, testify to the fact that the area of the Nile Delta and particularly the eastern Delta was protected by a chain of fortresses.
To the military activities of the Ramessides can also be add the fortress at Tell el-Retaba, built at the beginning of the Ramesside era in the military sensitive region of Wadi Tumilat. The evident expenditure on the construction and its subsequent reconstruction indicates that its location was considered highly strategic and economically important.