A "long-lost" branch of the Nile in Egypt may explain the location of several ancient pyramids, researchers have suggested.
In a study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, an international team reports that they have identified segments of a major extinct section of the river that they named the Ahramat Branch.
Evidence of this branch now lies buried under farmland and desert, but according to the study, it once ran along the eastern edge of the Western Desert Plateau (WSD)—a part of the wider Sahara—just to the west of the course of the modern Nile.
The 40-mile-long course of the newly described Ahramat Branch appears to run closely past 31 pyramids that also lie along the eastern edge of the Plateau. This chain—which represents the largest concentration of pyramids in Egypt—includes the iconic complex at Giza.
The pyramid chain, which extends from Giza in the north to Lisht in the south, was built over the course of a millennium, beginning around 4,700 years ago. But no convincing evidence had emerged to explain why these pyramids are concentrated in this particular area, along what is now a narrow strip of desert.
Monumental structures, such as pyramids and temples, would "logically" be built near major waterways to facilitate the transportation of their construction materials and workers, according to the study authors. Yet, no waterway has been found near the pyramids, with the modern Nile lying several miles away.
In the latest study, however, the authors argue that the pyramids in this chain were linked to the Ahramat Branch.
"We suggest that The Ahramat Branch played a role in the monuments' construction and that it was simultaneously active and used as a transportation waterway for workmen and building materials to the pyramids' sites," the authors wrote in the study.
Scientists think that the Nile used to be split up into several more branches than are present today. Previously, researchers have speculated that one of these branches may have flown by the Giza-Lisht chain, but there has been a lack of concrete evidence to support this idea.
"Since the beginning of the Pharaonic era, the Nile River has played a fundamental role in the rapid growth and expansion of the Egyptian civilization .... most of the key cities and monuments were in close proximity to the banks of the Nile and its peripheral branches," the authors said.
"Over time, however, the main course of the Nile River laterally migrated, and its peripheral branches silted up, leaving behind many ancient Egyptian sites distant from the present-day river course. Yet, it is still unclear as to where exactly the ancient Nile courses were situated, and whether different reaches of the Nile had single or multiple branches that were simultaneously active in the past."
In the latest study, the international team—led by Eman Ghoneim with the University of North Carolina Wilmington—studied satellite imagery to find the possible location of a former branch of the Nile. The researchers then used geophysical surveys and deep soil coring to confirm the presence of ancient river sediments and former channels beneath the modern land surface of the WSD's western edge.
According to the team, this evidence supports the existence of the long-lost Ahramat Branch of the Nile. (The word "Ahramat" means "pyramid" in Arabic.)
This discovery may help explain the locations of the pyramids along the eastern edge of the WSD, given that the monument sites would have been easily accessible via the branch at the time they were built.
In addition, the researchers found that many of the pyramids had causeways that ended at the proposed riverbanks of the Ahramat Branch, indicating that the river may have been used for transporting construction materials to the sites.
"The enormity of this branch and its proximity to the pyramid complexes, in addition to the fact that the pyramids' causeways terminate at its riverbank, all imply that this branch was active and operational during the construction phase of these pyramids," the authors wrote. "This waterway would have connected important locations in ancient Egypt, including cities and towns, and therefore, played an important role in the cultural landscape of the region."
In the study, the authors suggest that an increased build-up of windblown sand—linked to a major drought that began around 4,200 years ago—may have played a role in the eventual disappearance of the branch.
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