Although the Nile is one of the largest rivers in the world and played a central role in ancient ... more Although the Nile is one of the largest rivers in the world and played a central role in ancient Egyptian life, little is known about its response to climatic change during the Holocene. Here we present a framework for the evolution of the Egyptian Nile, demonstrating how climatic and environmental changes have shaped the landscape of the Egyptian Nile Valley over the past 11,500 years, including the civilization of ancient Egypt (~5,000 to 2,000 years ago). Using data from over 80 sediment cores drilled in a transect spanning the Nile Valley near Luxor, pinned in time by 48 optically stimulated luminescence ages, we reconstruct the dynamics of the Nile River during the Holocene in the vicinity of UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Karnak and Luxor temples. According to our reconstruction, valley incision occurred from the start of the record until approximately 4,000 years ago and then rapidly shifted to massive floodplain aggradation. We argue that this relatively abrupt change in the riverine landscape near Luxor from the Middle to Late Holocene was linked to a shift towards a drier regional
hydroclimate around this time. Such a dramatic change in river sediment dynamics could have had local agro-economic consequences.
In the Theban area around modern Luxor (Egypt), the River Nile divides the temple complexes of Ka... more In the Theban area around modern Luxor (Egypt), the River Nile divides the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor from New Kingdom royal cult temples on the western desert edge. Few sites have been archaeologically identified in the western flood plain, despite its presumed pivotal role in the ancient ritual landscape as the territory that both physically divided and symbolically connected the areas inhabited by the living and the areas occupied by the dead. Using borehole data and electrical resistivity tomography, the current investigation of subsurface deposits reveals the location of an abandoned channel of the Nile. This river course was positioned in the western, dis-tal part of the Nile flood plain. Over 2100 ceramic fragments recovered from boreholes date the abandonment of the relatively minor river channel to the (late) New Kingdom. This minor river branch could have played an important role in the cultural landscape, as it would have served to connect important localities in the ritual landscape. Changes in the fluvial landscape match with established periods of basin-wide hydroclimatic variability. This links cultural and landscape changes observed on a regional scale to hydroclimatic dynamics in the larger Nile catchment, in one of the focal areas of Ancient Egyptian cultural development.
By Angus Graham, Kristian Strutt, Jan Peeters, Willem Toonen, Benjamin Pennington, Virginia Emery... more By Angus Graham, Kristian Strutt, Jan Peeters, Willem Toonen, Benjamin Pennington, Virginia Emery, Dominic Barker & Carolin Johansson.
Report on the 2016 spring season of the Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey (THaWS). The article discusses the geoarchaeological and geophysical survey along a 3.2 km-long transect starting close to the front of the Temple of Millions of Years of Ay and Horemheb and stretching to the village of Geziret el-Bairat on the West Bank of the Nile.
Although the Nile is one of the largest rivers in the world and played a central role in ancient ... more Although the Nile is one of the largest rivers in the world and played a central role in ancient Egyptian life, little is known about its response to climatic change during the Holocene. Here we present a framework for the evolution of the Egyptian Nile, demonstrating how climatic and environmental changes have shaped the landscape of the Egyptian Nile Valley over the past 11,500 years, including the civilization of ancient Egypt (~5,000 to 2,000 years ago). Using data from over 80 sediment cores drilled in a transect spanning the Nile Valley near Luxor, pinned in time by 48 optically stimulated luminescence ages, we reconstruct the dynamics of the Nile River during the Holocene in the vicinity of UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Karnak and Luxor temples. According to our reconstruction, valley incision occurred from the start of the record until approximately 4,000 years ago and then rapidly shifted to massive floodplain aggradation. We argue that this relatively abrupt change in the riverine landscape near Luxor from the Middle to Late Holocene was linked to a shift towards a drier regional
hydroclimate around this time. Such a dramatic change in river sediment dynamics could have had local agro-economic consequences.
In the Theban area around modern Luxor (Egypt), the River Nile divides the temple complexes of Ka... more In the Theban area around modern Luxor (Egypt), the River Nile divides the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor from New Kingdom royal cult temples on the western desert edge. Few sites have been archaeologically identified in the western flood plain, despite its presumed pivotal role in the ancient ritual landscape as the territory that both physically divided and symbolically connected the areas inhabited by the living and the areas occupied by the dead. Using borehole data and electrical resistivity tomography, the current investigation of subsurface deposits reveals the location of an abandoned channel of the Nile. This river course was positioned in the western, dis-tal part of the Nile flood plain. Over 2100 ceramic fragments recovered from boreholes date the abandonment of the relatively minor river channel to the (late) New Kingdom. This minor river branch could have played an important role in the cultural landscape, as it would have served to connect important localities in the ritual landscape. Changes in the fluvial landscape match with established periods of basin-wide hydroclimatic variability. This links cultural and landscape changes observed on a regional scale to hydroclimatic dynamics in the larger Nile catchment, in one of the focal areas of Ancient Egyptian cultural development.
By Angus Graham, Kristian Strutt, Jan Peeters, Willem Toonen, Benjamin Pennington, Virginia Emery... more By Angus Graham, Kristian Strutt, Jan Peeters, Willem Toonen, Benjamin Pennington, Virginia Emery, Dominic Barker & Carolin Johansson.
Report on the 2016 spring season of the Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey (THaWS). The article discusses the geoarchaeological and geophysical survey along a 3.2 km-long transect starting close to the front of the Temple of Millions of Years of Ay and Horemheb and stretching to the village of Geziret el-Bairat on the West Bank of the Nile.
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hydroclimate around this time. Such a dramatic change in river sediment dynamics could have had local agro-economic consequences.
Report on the 2016 spring season of the Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey (THaWS). The article discusses the geoarchaeological and geophysical survey along a 3.2 km-long transect starting close to the front of the Temple of Millions of Years of Ay and Horemheb and stretching to the village of Geziret el-Bairat on the West Bank of the Nile.
hydroclimate around this time. Such a dramatic change in river sediment dynamics could have had local agro-economic consequences.
Report on the 2016 spring season of the Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey (THaWS). The article discusses the geoarchaeological and geophysical survey along a 3.2 km-long transect starting close to the front of the Temple of Millions of Years of Ay and Horemheb and stretching to the village of Geziret el-Bairat on the West Bank of the Nile.