Using radar imaging technology the Archeologists were able to identify the outline of the city including streets, houses, a port, and a side arm of the River Nile passing through the city.
The city is believed to be Avaris, which was the summer capital of the Hyksos.
The outlines of the city which were shown by radar images detail streets and houses underneath the green farm fields and modern towns in Egypt's Delta, now a densely populated area.
Hyksos ruled Egypt from 1664 to 1569 BC.
They infiltrated Egypt and came to dominate the Nile valley for over a century during the Second Intermediate Period.
From their strategic capital, Avaris, these foreign rulers are credited with introducing horse-drawn chariots into Egypt and controlling the lucrative trade routes with the Near East and the Mediterranean world.
Avaris was then captured by King Ahmose I (ruled about 1570-1546 B.C.), who ended the Hyksos rule and founded the glorious 18th dynasty, which included pharaohs such as Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun.
The mission also identified one of the Nile river tributaries that passed through the city, as well as two islands, according to Irene Mueller who heads the Austrian team.
The resulting computer-generated images showed a very detailed layout, complete with houses, streets, cemeteries and palaces.
The team has also identified temples where the Hyksos worshiped the god Seth, a possible harbor area and a series of pits of different sizes whose function has not yet been determined.
Avaris was located near NOW Tel Al Dab'a in the North Eastern region of the Nile Delta.
At a certain point of time, it was a well-developed center of trade and a busy port, handling over 300 ships during a trading season.
Avaris was abandoned after the Hyksos expulsion.
In the 19th Century, Avaris came back under lights and regained its glory, when Ramesses II made it as his Capital City.
He named it PI-Ramsses Annakhtu,w his means Hose of Ramesses, Great in Victory.
Built on the banks of the Pelusiac branch of the nile and with a population of over 300,000, Pi-Ramesses flourished for more than a century after Ramesses death and poems were written over its splendor.
The layout of the city, as shown by Ground-penetrating radar, consisted of a huge central temple, a large precinct of mansions bordering the river in the west set in a rigid grid pattern of streets and a disorderly collection of houses and workshops in the east.
The palace of Ramesses is believed to lie beneath the modern village of Qantir.
An Austrian team of archaeologists, who previously headed by Manfred Bietak, who discovered the site, found evidence of many canals and lakes and have described the city as the Venice of Egypt.
A surprising discovery in the excavated stables were small cisterns located adjacent to each of the estimated 460 horse tether points. Using mules, which are the same size as the horses of Ramesses day, it was found a double tethered horse would naturally use the cistern as a toilet leaving the stable floor clean and dry.
According to the latest estimates Pi-Ramesses was spread over a vast area of about 18 km2 (6.9 sq mi) or around 6 km (4 mi) long by 3 km (2 mi)
This made it one of the largest cities of ancient Egypt.
The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that facilitated the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, the first known ships, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty.
Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travellers and writers for centuries.
A new found respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy, for Egypt and the world
Egypt left a lasting legacy.
Sami Cherkaoui
No comments:
Post a Comment