Tell Abqa'in, which is seventy five km south-east of Alexandria and five km south-east of the modern town of Hosh Isa in the Bahriya Governorate, has long been regarded as one of a chain of forts constructed during the reign of Ramesses II on the edge of the Western Delta and out to the west along the coast. Other possible locations for forts in this chain have been suggested at el-Alamein and Gharbaniyat on the Mediterranean coast, and fortification of existing towns like Kom el-Hisn (30km S.E. of Abqa'in) on the edge of the Western Delta would indicate the continuation of a defensive line towards the capital at Memphis. However, the only other known fortress is located 300km west of Alexandria at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. As part of a major project to examine Ramesside military occupation in Marmarica and the Western Delta, a University of Liverpool team directed by Susanna Thomas, has been working at Tell Abqa'in since 1996.

Tell Abqa'in was first identified as a Ramesside site by Daressy in 1903 who reported two neighbouring mounds, each having a diameter of approximately 150 m and a height no greater than 6 m. One mound had a group of limestone blocks, inscribed with large hieroglyphic characters, which he assumed were part of gate/doorway. This tell was later visited by Habachi in 1941, by which time the blocks seen by Daressy had lost their inscribed faces, these having been sawn off and removed to the Graeco-Roman Museum at Alexandria. However, close to these blocks, Habachi located a further set, again inscribed with large hieroglyphs, and was able to trace part of the mud-brick wall which was intersected by this gateway.

Of the two mounds still visible at Tell Abqa'in, the north-western is now much smaller in size than its south-eastern neighbour and less immediately interesting. It is largely covered by a modern cemetery and, although sherd material (mostly Late Roman) lies on the surface, no more substantial remains are visible. The south-eastern mound is an impressive tell, with a pitted and undulating surface. Outcrops of mud brick walling can be seen in the face of the tell, particularly where sebbakh digging has produced relatively steep faces revealing a partial stratigraphy. This is especially true in an enormous cutting which effectively defines the western side of the tell.