A joint mission of Egyptian and international archaeologists at Tell el-Balamun, located in the northernmost Nile Delta, has unearthed a sprawling administrative complex dating to the 30th Dynasty. The site consists of a series of limestone-paved chambers and storage vaults that appear to have functioned as a hub for monitoring maritime trade between the Nile and the Mediterranean ports of the Levant and Greece.
Found within the ruins were hundreds of amphora fragments and a collection of official clay seals bearing the cartouche of Nectanebo II. Researchers believe this complex served as a customs house where duties were levied on imported olive oil and wine, providing rare physical evidence of the robust economic systems that supported the last native dynasty of ancient Egypt before the Persian and Macedonian conquests.