It has been long thought that Takhebet – a most obscure place mentioned in passing in a few Egyptian texts scattered across millennia, variously as a location ‘where Set is’ and ‘where Anubis is’ – was just a mythical place with no connection to factual reality.

In 2007, Egyptian inscriptions were discovered on a mountain that stands exactly at the meeting point of Egypt, Sudan, and Libya. The inscriptions in question seem to document a cattle exchange between Egypt and the ‘Takhebti’, evidently as an effort to stabilise the Egyptian economy following a civil war.

The mountain in question is called Jabal al-ʿUwaināt today; the meaning of the name is Mountain of Springs, which is most likely what the Egyptian name Takhebet also means. The place is very unusual not only because it’s a gargantuan landmark literally in the middle of nowhere, but also because of its more or less circular shape that coupled with the oddly regular stones that make up much of its architecture has led some scholars to categorise the place as an impact site. The regular patterns of its ‘walls’ and of the ‘floor’ between those walls are reminiscent of Giant’s Causeway in Ireland; in person the slopes of the mountain resemble a labyrinth of passages between giant boulders, some of which look like they’re about to lose balance, unusual-looking spires, and galleries that appear to be paved (they are not; the ‘pavement’ is of natural origin). It’s also a fertile spot around which there is nothing but sand for days in all directions, with the exception of three other large, semicircular structures nearby – the similar smaller mountain Arkanu, and two so-called Arkanu Craters, which, like I said, might not really be impact craters – we don’t know. It is noteworthy though that Set, whose domain Egyptians thought Takhebet was, was also the god of thunder (Egyptians equated Tarhunna with Set), and by extension meteors (Hittites also thought Tarhunt was the god of meteors). Countless petroglyphs cover the surface of the mountain; one assumes, the Egyptian civil war-era Takhebti are responsible for at least a part of them.

The game already features a bunch of super obscure locations as ‘wonders’ – points of interest that play absolutely zero role in real-world Egyptian history and archaeology, and naturally also in the game, but are nonetheless present on the campaign map. Jabal al-ʿUwaināt is actually attested, is very flavourful as a semi-mythical place, and if it was included in the game, its role would very closely parallel that of Trinacria island’s in Troy – with the important difference that Jabal al-ʿUwaināt/Takhebet is, as it has recently turned out, a real place, and with documented Egyptian presence to that.

If included in the game, it would be a perfect basis for a mazey battle map, because in real life it is large enough for a whole army to get lost between the cliffs. If adding a whole single-settlement province with a unique battle map is too much work, then perhaps Takhebet’s existence at least could be acknowledged in the Hatshepsut mechanic as a realm to visit, just like Punt is not physically in the game but can be communicated with via the expedition screen. Takhebet in this context could be an exporter of food.

But I think it would be a very cool detail to implement as a province hidden in plain sight, just like Thrinacia in Troy, because like I said it’s essentially the absolute same thing but 100% real, unlike Thrinacia which scholars agree is probably just an old name for Sicily and not an actual separate lost island, but Thrinacia is nonetheless in Troy as a hidden-in-plain-sight major food source. Perhaps Takhebet could be entirely shrouded by fog until you specifically approach it, inhabited by a Tjehenu/Libu tribe called Takhebti, the local cults could be the attested Set and Anubis, and also Amun because the place is ‘Hidden’, and you’d have to maneuver carefully through the desert along a hidden pre-determined path in order not to lose men when you travel there.

The structure itself is technically already in the game, on the very edge of the map between the settlements Thes and Ua in Dungul Oasis province. It just lies outside the gameplay area and does nothing.