Scientists have discovered that a tributary of the Nile River that once flowed by more than 30 pyramids in Egypt has long been buried underground. This could solve the mystery of how ancient Egyptians transported huge blocks of stone to build their famous monuments.
A tributary of the 40-mile-long river that once flowed past the iconic Giza pyramids was hidden beneath desert and farmland for thousands of years. According to research The discovery was revealed on Thursday.
The presence of this river would explain why a chain of 31 pyramids were built along the now-inhospitable desert region of the Nile Valley between 4,700 and 3,700 years ago.
This area, near Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt, includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving structure among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as well as the pyramids of Khafre, Khufu, and Mycerinus.
Archaeologists have long believed that ancient Egyptians must have used nearby waterways to move the massive materials used to build the pyramids.
“However, no one was sure about the location, shape, size, or proximity of this giant waterway to the actual pyramid site,” said lead author Eman of the University of North Carolina Wilmington.・Ghoneim told AFP.
Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images
An international team of researchers used radar satellite images to map the tributary called Ahramat (Arabic for “pyramid”).
The radar gave them “a unique ability to penetrate the sand surface and generate images of hidden features such as buried rivers and ancient structures,” Ghoneim said.
The presence of the river was confirmed through site investigation and sediment cores at the site, the report said. study Published in the journal “Communication Earth and Environment”.
The once mighty river has become increasingly covered in sand, which scientists suggest may have started during a major drought about 4,200 years ago.
“It makes going down the river easier.”
The Pyramids of Giza stood on a plateau about 1 km from the banks of the river.
Many of the pyramids had “ceremonial elevated walkways” that ran along rivers and ended at valley temples that served as ports, Ghoneim said.
This shows that the river “played an important role in transporting the vast amount of building materials and labor needed to build the pyramids,” he added.
Indeed, one of history’s great mysteries is how the ancient Egyptians were able to construct such huge and long-lasting structures.
Study co-author Suzanne Onstein from the University of Memphis told AFP that most of this heavy material came from the South, and that “it would have been much easier to move it down the river” than to transport it overland. Deaf,” he said.
She suggested that the river’s banks may have been where the pharaoh’s funeral entourage was received before his body was moved to its “final burial place within the pyramid.”
The river may also indicate why the pyramids were built in different locations.
“The flow and amount of water changed over time, so the kings of the Fourth Dynasty had to make different choices than the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty,” she said.
“This discovery reminds us of the close relationship between geography, climate, environment, and human behavior.”
The study followed a recent research project that focused on the iconic pyramids.
Earlier this year, archaeologists large scale projectThe goal is to restore the smallest of Giza’s three famous pyramids to the way they looked when they were believed to have been built more than 4,000 years ago. Archaeological missions from Egypt and Japan have announced a project to replace hundreds of granite blocks that formed the outer framework of Menkaure’s pyramid.
However, some archaeologists, including the former head of Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities, were not involved in the project and expressed concerns as excavations progressed. Dr. Mohamed Abd El-Maqsoud, a former Egyptian Antiquities Directorate and former senior official at the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, told CBS News that before moving the granite blocks, he first made sure they were all equal pieces. should be extensively investigated, he said. From the original structure.
Last year, a team of Egyptian archaeologists and other scientists obtained clear images of the 30-foot-long ruins using cutting-edge technology that harnesses radiation from space. Corridor inside the Great Pyramid of Gizaremains hidden behind the main entrance to the ancient structure.
Ahmed Shawkat contributed to this report.
