Human and Deltaic Environments in Northern Egypt in Late Antiquity

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between archaeological sites from the Roman-Late Roman period in the north-central Delta of Egypt and the palaeotopography and environmental conditions from the 1st millennium BC to 1st millennium AD. The location of the archaeological sites is mapped according to survey maps of the 19th and 20th c. and digital topographic models from satellite data. The Ptolemaic and Roman context for the apparent ‘boom’ in settlement during the late antique period (3rd–7th c. AD) is described to assess the way in which the diverse environments of floodplain, wetland and marsh, and sand-bars were managed, and to propose a possible reconstruction of the ancient landscape. The results of the correlation are discussed in terms of connectivity to waterways, lagoons and the sea, spatial organisation, hierarchy and site function. The way in which the evidence from this time period may provide a potential proxy for understanding earlier and later settlement density is explored. Throughout, the historical trajectory and the environment will provide the background for the development of the Delta in the Medieval and Modern period.

Discovering Potential Settlement Areas around Archaeological Tells Using the Integration between Historic Topographic Maps, Optical, and Radar Data in the Northern Nile Delta, Egypt

“…Because this study is focused on detecting ancient occupations, these remote sensing indices served as a proxy to measure the differences in the vegetation value between the original marshland and barren area in the study area. By using combinations of the relevant indices (EVI2, GNDVI, OSAVI, and GEMI), we were able to take advantage of recent methodological enhancements in land use mapping [77]. The results of the remote sensing indices showed that the marshlands identified correlated significantly with the historic topographic maps.…”

Revealing the paleolandscape features around the archaeological sites in the northern Nile Delta of Egypt using radar satellite imagery and GEE platform

“…Herodotus the Greek writer, geographer and historian refers to the northern part of the Delta as a marsh region (Attiah, 2011). The region was most active from the Roman through to the medieval periods (Wilson, 2012) with at least 40 town-sites and around 150 potential ancient archaeological sites identified in the area north of ancient Buto by the Egypt Exploration Society's Delta Survey Project (Egypt Exploration Society, n.d., https://www.ees.ac.uk/ delta-survey; Wilson, 2016). The geomorphology of the present coast of the Nile Delta was shaped by two tidal processes, the currents of the Mediterranean Sea and the alluvial filling of the Delta by the branches of the Nile (Torab & Azab, 2007).…”

Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta

“…No distinct remains of an ancient settlement have yet been discovered on the surface of, or close to, this feature, nor is there any information in the SoE maps of the CORONA or Sentinel-2 imagery. However, related work reports Ptolemaic and Roman pottery and other vestiges are found on a number of elevated sectors examined in this general eastern Burullus lagoon area [34,35]. The possibility of discovering an once-existing settlement in the vicinity of S- However, related work reports Ptolemaic and Roman pottery and other vestiges are found on a number of elevated sectors examined in this general eastern Burullus lagoon area [34,35].…”

“…However, related work reports Ptolemaic and Roman pottery and other vestiges are found on a number of elevated sectors examined in this general eastern Burullus lagoon area [34,35]. The possibility of discovering an once-existing settlement in the vicinity of S- However, related work reports Ptolemaic and Roman pottery and other vestiges are found on a number of elevated sectors examined in this general eastern Burullus lagoon area [34,35]. The possibility of discovering an once-existing settlement in the vicinity of S-44 is thus not excluded until more closely spaced exploratory deep drilling and archaeological subsurface surveys and excavations are made in close proximity to the study site.…”

“…Akkadian collapse and northeast Africa 4200-3900; 3200-3100 [51] Mediterranean 4200 [55] Eastern Mediterranean 3200 [49] Eastern Mediterranean 3200-3000; 2900-2850 [50] Eastern Mediterranean 4200; 3200-3100 [51] Eastern Mediterranean 5500-5200; 4200-3900; 3200-2800; 2300; 1800; 1700 [56] Eastern Mediterranean, Israel, and Egypt 5300-5000; 4500-3900; 3200-2800 [57] Israel and Egypt 3200 [48] Maryut Lake and northwest delta coast Flow decreased to 3200 BP [58] Burullus lagoon region 3rd-7th century AD; 7th-9th century AD [34,35] Nile delta 4200-4000 [45,46,53] Central delta 5800-5500; 4200-4000; 3400-3050 [59] Saqqara necropolis 4100-3950 [60] Faiyum depression 4800-4000; 3100-2800; After 2700 [43] Faiyum depression 4200-4000; 3300-3100; 2500-2000; 1700-1500; 900-500 [61] Faiyum depression 5700-5450; 4200; 3300-3100; 2800-2550; 400 [54] Faiyum depression 6300-5600; 4200-4000; 3300-2800; 2500-2400; 1600-1500 [62] Faiyum depression 5800-5400; 4200-4000; 3900-3000; 2300-2000; 1000-Present [63] Faiyum depression 5000; 4000 year BP is minimalized; 2700-2300 [64] Lower Egypt 5350-5100; 4000 [65,66] Nile downstream from Khartoum 3300 [67] However, a fluctuating drying to arid climate leading to reduced rainfall and increased evaporitic conditions may well have led to a periodic diminished and insufficient Nile flow level, thus hindering nautical movement up and downstream channels and canals. Such fluctuating climatic conditions could periodically have also led to decreased agricultural production, with an insufficient food supply to support a population living and working in the area near the channel site, and thus hindering trade activities there as well.…”