Egypt Guide
The Delta
Tanis
One of the oldest-known sites in the eastern marches of the Delta is a huge kom near the village of San el-Hagar ("San of the Stones"), 167km northeast of Zagazig. Barring a stint by Petrie, the excavation has mostly been in French hands since the 1860s. Although best known by its Greek name, TANIS, the city was called Zoan in the Bible and known to the Ancient Egyptians as Djanet. It originally stood beside the Tanite branch of the Nile, which has long since dried up. In the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, it is here that Indiana Jones uncovers the Ark of the Covenant.
The desolate site looks as if the huge Ramessid Temple of Amun was shattered by a giant's hammer, scattering chunks of masonry and fragments of statues everywhere. Confusingly for scholars, the founders of Tanis plundered masonry from cities all over the Delta (some predating the Hyksos, who had earlier usurped it). In 1939, Pierre Montet discovered the tombs of Psusennes II and Osorkon II, containing the "Treasure of Tanis", which is now in the Cairo Museum.
While the site at Tanis can be wandered at will, getting there is awkward. The best jumping-off point is FAQUS, 37km to the south, which can be reached by service taxi from Ismailiya, Cairo or Zagazig, by bus from Zagazig or from Cairo's Aboud terminal (every 45min 7.30am–8.15pm; 2hr). From Faqus, you can catch a local bus or service taxi to San el-Hagar, or rent a private taxi for the round trip.