Mid-Holocene bifacial tradition evidenced in Augila Oasis, Cyrenaica, Libya

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 7-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Mason ◽  
Giulio Lucarini
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Condition ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Nile Valley ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
Northern Edge

AbstractThis article considers three lithic artefacts (two sidescrapers and a gouge or plane) discovered at Augila Oasis, located in Cyrenaica along the dried riverbed of Wadi Nashoof and once directly in the line of the Western Desert trade and pilgrimage route. The three Augila tools belong to the so-called bifacial tradition, which spread in the eastern Sahara during the mid-Holocene, from c. 6000 to 4800 BC, and find parallels among the mid-Holocene production of the northern edge of the Farafra Oasis and other contexts of the Egyptian Western Desert. The presence of the bifacial tradition in the Lower Nile Valley and in the Libyan littoral could have unfolded through exchange networks during periods of favourable climatic condition in the mid-Holocene.

New Data on Plant Use in the Eastern Sahara: The Macro-Remain Assemblage from Sheikh el-Obeiyid Villages and Bir el-Obeiyid Playa, Farafra Oasis, Egyptian Western Desert

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Elshafaey Abdellatif Elshafaey Attia ◽  
Claire Malleson ◽  
Ahmed G. Fahmy ◽  
Giulio Lucarini
Keyword(s):  
Western Desert ◽  
Settlement System ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Plant Use ◽  
Wild Grass ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
Intensive Exploitation ◽  
Hidden Valley ◽  
Emerging Patterns ◽  
Northern Edge

Abstract This article discusses archaeobotanical evidence from two Sheikh el-Obeiyid villages and the Bir el-Obeiyid playa, which are located along the course of the Wadi el-Obeiyid and on the top and escarpment of the Northern Plateau, at the northern edge of the Farafra Oasis, Egypt. The villages and playa are both part of a settlement system which developed from the top of the plateau, through its various erosion surfaces, down to the bottom of the wadi. The villages in particular can be considered as seasonal base camps, populated by semi-sedentary groups who engaged in intensive exploitation of the resources available in the surrounding environment during the early and mid-Holocene. These sites can be compared to the better-known Hidden Valley village site located only 20 km to the east, the remains from which were analysed during the early 2000s by Ahmed G. Fahmy. At all the sites investigated to date in Farafra there is clear evidence for gathering and use of sorghum and other species of small-seeded wild grasses, fitting the emerging patterns of intense wild grass exploitation in attractive ecological zones for the eastern Sahara during the 9th–6th millennia BP.

scholarly journals Sand Seas and Dune Fields of Egypt

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Olaf Bubenzer ◽  
Nabil S. Embabi ◽  
Mahmoud M. Ashour
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Images ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Optically Stimulated Luminescence ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Nile Valley ◽  
The North ◽  
North Sinai

The article reviews the state of knowledge about distribution, sizes, dynamics, and ages of all sand seas (N = 6) and dune fields (N = 10) in Egypt (1,001,450 km2). However, chronological data (Optically Stimulated Luminescence, Thermoluminescence), used in the INQUA (International Union for Quaternary Research) dune database, only exists from three of the five sand seas located in the Western Desert of Egypt. The North Sinai Sand Sea and four of the ten dune fields are located near the Nile Valley, the delta or the coast and therefore changed drastically due to land reclamation during the last decades. Here, but also in the oases, their sands pose a risk for settlements and farmland. Our comprehensive investigations of satellite images and our field measurements show that nearly all terrestrial dune forms can be observed in Egypt. Longitudinal dunes and barchans are dominant. Sand seas cover about 23.8% (with an average sand coverage of 74.8%), dune fields about 4.4% (with an average sand coverage of 31.7%) of its territory. For the Great Sand Sea and the Farafra Sand Sea, situated in the central and northern part of the Western Desert, a Late Glacial transformation by strong westerlies was found, but not for the Selima Sand Sea, situated in the south of Egypt. Regarding the sparse chronological data up to now, for a reasonable estimation of future sand mobility in the course of global climate change, further data are essential. Finally, further studies concerning sand mobility, local wind systems, and land use are needed.

Rural Experiences: The Western Desert

2019 ◽  
pp. 95-130
Author(s):  
Henry P. Colburn
Keyword(s):  
Castor Oil ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Nile Valley ◽  
Old Kingdom ◽  
New Towns ◽  
Irrigation Technology ◽  
Imperial Power ◽  
Strategic Location ◽  
Artesian Wells

This chapter is concerned with the Dakhla and Kharga Oases in the Western Desert. This was an obscure region, considered by the Egyptians to be outside of Egypt proper. Population there was limited, especially after the Old Kingdom when the artesian wells dried up. This picture changes dramatically under Achaemenid rule. Several temples were established or expanded in the oasis. One of these, the Hibis Temple is the earliest example of the ‘pan-Egyptian’ temples that characterized the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. New towns were built along with these temples, and these towns were supplied with water by means of qanats, an irrigation technology that originated in Iran. The resurgence of the oasis, then, served an imperial purpose, namely to link this important strategic location more closely to centers of imperial power in the Nile valley. But, as the Demotic ostraca from Ain Manawir indicate, this act also created a thriving local economy with ties to the Mediterranean and the production of cash crops, notably castor oil, for export. Once again, the empire’s impact in the oases produced varied consequences.

scholarly journals Autumn Migration of Passerines in Bahariya Oasis, Egypt – Where Do They Come from and Where Do They Go?

Ring ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 27-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Stêpniewski ◽  
Matthew L. J. White ◽  
Mary Megalli
Keyword(s):  
Nile Delta ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Migration Pattern ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Autumn Migration ◽  
Nile Valley ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Lake Chad ◽  
Crossing Point ◽  
Bahariya Oasis

ABSTRACT Stêpniewski K., White M.L.J., Megalli M. 2011. Autumn migration of passerines in BahariyaOasis in Egypt - where do they come from and where do they go? Ring 33, 1-2: 27-36. We present the results of studies on directional preferences of passerine migrants in Bahariya Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt. Fieldwork was conducted in August and September 2010. Birds were mist-netted, ringed and tested in Busse’s orientation cage; in total 66 tests were analysed. The most pronounced direction was W, which was surprising and remains unexplained. Southern directions were also prominent, particularly SW; among the northern directions NW were distinct and NE less so. Our results are in line with those at other ringing stations in Egypt, suggesting a common migration pattern in this region. They also allow for tracking probable migration routes through Bahariya. Birds may arrive at the oasis from the Nile Delta and Mediterranean coast, then the majority head SW towards Lake Chad, while others may fly directly S or SE towards the Nile Valley. Bahariya Oasis appears to be an important crossing point of passerine migration routes across the Sahara and it is important to continue further studies in this area.

Human Mummification Practices at Ismant El-Kharab

1999 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Aufderheide ◽  
Michael Zlonis ◽  
Larry L. Cartmell ◽  
Michael R. Zimmerman ◽  
Peter Sheldrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Remains ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Mortuary Practices ◽  
Nile Valley ◽  
The West ◽  
External Appearance ◽  
Adult Cadaver ◽  
Dakhleh Oasis

An estimated 169 inhumations were identified in 15 tomb chambers of the west cemetery at the Roman Period site of Ismant el-Kharab (Kellis) in Egypt's Dakhleh Oasis in the western desert. Of these, 50 were in the form of mummified human remains, about half of which represented deliberate, anthropogenic (‘artificial’) mummification. Comparison of mortuary practices with contemporary ones of the Nile Valley revealed some general similarities but also some exceptional differences. The most spectacular of these involved the production of composite mummies, prepared by using parts from multiple, different bodies, lashing them to a wood rack and wrapping the whole in such a manner as to resemble the external appearance of a traditional, single, mummified adult cadaver.

New terror groups may increase Egyptian insecurity

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Nile Valley ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Sinai Peninsula ◽  
Security Risks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
State Affiliate

Subject Emergence of new terrorist groups. Significance As Egypt prepares for presidential elections in the first half of 2018, two additional militant groups add to an already-complex militant landscape, with rising security risks. Although Jund al-Islam’s re-emergence in the Sinai Peninsula could complicate military operations targeting the Islamic State affiliate, Wilayat Sinai, it is the new group known as Ansar al-Islam that poses the more significant threat. Impacts Ansar al-Islam’s presence in the Western Desert threatens a wide area stretching to the outskirts of Cairo and the Nile Valley. Rising salafi-jihadist groups could disrupt the upcoming presidential elections. Violence in the Sinai may spike as the Islamic State affiliate is presented with an al-Qaida-aligned rival. The Egyptian mainland, in particular the Western Desert, could become a key battleground for the new jihadists.

Early Holocene pottery in the Western Desert of Egypt: new data from Nabta Playa

Antiquity ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 85 (327) ◽  
pp. 99-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maciej Jórdeczka ◽  
Halina Królik ◽  
Mirosław Masojć ◽  
Romuald Schild
Keyword(s):  
Early Holocene ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Nile Valley

Dated and stratified potsherds excavated at Nabta Playa belong to the earliest phase of pottery-making in the Sahara – relatively sophisticated bowls decorated with a toothed wheel. The authors explore the origins of post-Pleistocene settlers in the Sahara and the Nile Valley and discuss what prompted them to make pottery.

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