Tell Mokdam

Some 25mi/40km southeast of Tanta and 6mi/10km south of Mit Ghamr, in one of the most beautiful parts of the Delta, on the right bank of the Damietta arm of the Nile, is Tell Mokdam, a massive rubble mound marking the site of Leontopolis ("Lion City"), a town mentioned by Strabo which in the Ptolemaic period was the flourishing capital of the 11th nome of Lower Egypt.

The buildings, including a temple erected by Osorkon II (22nd Dynasty), were almost completely demolished in later times for the sake of their stone. Excavation has brought to light many statues of lions and the local lion god Mahes. The discovery of the Tomb of Kamama, mother of Osorkon IV, indicates that Leontopolis was the residence of a collateral line of the 23rd Dynasty. There may well be other royal tombs of the same period awaiting discovery.