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Lake Nasr and the Nile Underwater Archaeological study of Lake Nasr and the Nile River are only just beginning to be given the serious attention it deserves. With the exception of rescue archaeology studies conducted prior to the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the early 1900's and again in the 1950's, very little study has been done, either before or since. In what is considered the world's first achaeological salvage project, Dr. George Reisner directed an archaeological survey of Nubia starting in 1907 in the area above where the first Aswan Dam was built. This survey of an area covering over 100 miles in length lasted until 1911. In that short time before the dam was built, much information was recorded concerning the sites which were to be flooded after the dam's construction. Dr. Reisner's work and ground-breaking methodology continued in the region for almost the next 50 years. However, this was terrestrial archaeology.
In 1952 when the second dam was to be built, the High Dam, a plea went out to international organizations for assistance in conducting another archaeology salvage operation in the area above the proposed High Dam's location. This call for help was answered by numerous international bodies which resulted in unparalleled cooperation between numerous different disciplines. Probably the best known examples of the results of this campaign is disassembly, relocation, and reassembly of the Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Temple of Isis at Philae Island. Another example is the Nubian temple of EL-Lessiya, built during the reign of Tuthmosis III, which was cut from its rock foundation and reassembled in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy as a gift in return for Italy's assistance during the salvage opeation. However, there were many more ancient sites, such as the Queen's temple located adjacent to the Temple of Ramses II, which time did not allow to be fully studied and recorded before being submerged by the waters of Lake Nasr.
(Click HERE for a list of sites which have been relocated and sites which are submerged.) Temples and Settlements submerged by Lake Nasr
As technological advances in both diving equipment and underwater archaeological methodologies have been made over the years, and in particular, after George Bass' excavations at Ulubrunn proved that archaeology could be conducted underwater to the same standards as terrestrial archaeology, hence giving birth to modern underwater archaeology, the possibility of conducting underwater surveys and excavations in Lake Nasr and the river Nile has been there.
Dr. Matthew Joel Adams, speaking on the study of submerged terrestrial sites, states that Lake Nasr presents a unique opportunity to change the paradigm about how submerged terrestrial sites are surveyed and excavated. This being, that many of these submerged sites were surveyed, to some degree, prior to their submergence. As a result, we know site locations, site layout at the time of flooding, and in many instances the physical conditions of these sites prior to submergence. With this information in-hand, underwater surveys of these sites may provide additional information pertaining to silt rates of the Nile River, how submergence of sites are affected over time, and the possibility exists that the waters have uncovered portions of sites previously not recorded. As well as continuing study of these sites where the salvage archaeology efforts left off in the early 1960's.
The inundation of the Nile at Giza in the early 1900's
Archaeological evidence in the Nile region has provided evidence of occupation, either by Homo Sapien Sapien or his predecessors, for at least 10,000 years. As the Nile's course has shifted over the centuries it surely would have destroyed settlements and temples which were constructed on the river banks which existed at the time. Additionally, as the Nile was also utilized as a transportation route for movement of trade goods, building materials, and people from place to place, it can be safely be assumed that various articles of daily life, if not entire cargoes, would have fallen overboard and ended up on the bottom of the river.
As the course of the Nile changed, these items would have been buried by the silt from the river. In the case of structures built along the riverbanks, erosion would caused these structures to fall into the river, only to be covered over in silt as the Nile continued to change its course. Current Surveys, Studies, and Excavations
In early 2008, a team from the Supreme Council of Antiquities-Department of Underwater Archaeology (SCA-DUA) conducted a survey of an area below the Aswan Dam near Elephantine Island using side-scan sonar. The results of this survey resulted in divers descending to the bottom of the Nile and conducting visual surveys of high-probability locations. In March/April 2008 their survey efforts were rewarded by locating a number of items associated with a temple dedicated to the Egyptian Fertility God Khnum, considered to be one of the earliest of the Egyptian dieties. A massive stone doorway to the temple was located. Weighing many tons, it is too large to bring to the surface. A 1-ton section of the doorway was brought to the surface in the hopes that the inscriptions engraved on it will provide additional information concerning when the temple was built, posssibly between the 22nd and 26th Dynasties (945-545 B.C.), and by who. Also found during the survey are the remains of an ancient Christian church located on the east bank of the Nile.
Located on Elephantine Island adjacent to this site, are the remains of a Temple of Khnum. The temple was contructed in between 1985-1773 B.C. (12th or 13th Dyn.), being rebuilt and expanded by the regimes which followed as late as the reign of Hatshepsut (1473-1458 B.C.) and was an important temple to the local people. The God Khnum, also known as the God of Silt, was considered as being the God responsible for the annual inundation of the Nile which provided the nutrient rich silt which renewed the alluvial soil along the riverbanks.
Excavations were scheduled to resume in late fall of 2008 and continuing through 2009 with surveys conducted from Aswan north to Luxor and Abydos. As more information becomes available this page will be updated.
References:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080527-egypt-temple.html http://allaboutegypt.org/tag/aswan/ http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/893/he1.htm http://www.aldokkan.com/religion/khnum.htm http://web.mit.edu/deeparch/www/events/2002conference/papers/Adams.pdf Milestones in Archaeology (By Tim Murray) http://ascendingpassage.com/N-14-Abu-Simbel-Ramesses.htm http://sitemaker.umich.edu/sec004_gp5/the_aswan_high_dam_benefits
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