An ancient branch of the Nile River lies underground near the Giza pyramid complex in Egypt. This river may have helped ancient Egyptians build their monuments.
The largest group of pyramids in Egypt is located in a desert area between Giza and the village of Lisht. Today, this area is several dozen kilometers away from the Nile River. However, Egyptologists believe that the Nile once flowed much closer to this desert stretch.
Recent satellite images and geological studies confirm the existence of a Nile tributary, now named the Ahramat Branch, which flowed close to numerous significant sites in the area thousands of years ago.
This discovery, detailed in a report published on May 16 in Communications Earth and Environment, sheds light on why ancient Egyptians selected this particular area for constructing the pyramids.
Judith Bunbury, a geoarchaeologist from the University of Cambridge in the UK, explains that building the pyramids was a massive undertaking. However, transporting large stones by boat is much easier than carrying them over land.
Nile River shifts its course over time
For centuries, the Nile and its floodplain have been crucial for providing food, water, and agriculture to the people of Egypt. Most of the country’s population resides in the Nile basin.
However, the river has a history of shifting its course, requiring communities to relocate over time. In recent centuries, the Nile has shifted eastward by several kilometers, potentially due to changes in plate tectonics.
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Scientists unearth a long-buried branch of the Nile, which once flowed alongside more than 30 pyramids in Egypt, which may solve the mystery of how ancient Egyptians transported massive stone blocks to build the famous monuments between 4700 and 3700… pic.twitter.com/ZhqSRSOgbH
— Pharaoh On 𝕏 (@PharaohOnX) May 18, 2024
Evidence suggests some of Egypt’s significant archaeological sites don’t share the same connection to the river as they did when originally constructed. Clues, such as the remains of harbors, have been discovered between Giza and Lisht. However, scientists have faced challenges in mapping out the extent and locations of these vanished waterways, as reported by Nature.
The lost branch passed by 30 pyramids
During a search for signs of ancient waterways, a team led by Eman Ghoneim, a geomorphologist at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, identified what appeared to be an arid river channel situated several kilometers west of the Nile.
This channel, spanning approximately 60 kilometers through agricultural areas, exhibited similar dimensions to the modern Nile in terms of depth and width.
To determine if the channel could be an ancient riverbed, the researchers extracted core samples of sediment from the channel. Below the moist soil of the fields, they discovered a layer of gravel and sand resembling that of a riverbed. By combining this sample data with satellite imagery, the team successfully mapped the location of the branch.
Their findings revealed that it would have passed by over 30 pyramids dating back to the Old and Middle Kingdoms, spanning from 2686 to 1649 BC. Hence, they named it the ‘Ahramat’ branch, derived from the Arabic word for pyramid.