Short contribution on the past desert edge landscape at (Lake) Abusir, Egypt

Abstract

A geological survey of ten boreholes was carried out at the desert edge near Abusir to investigate the location and age of former lakes. These environments are suggested to have played an important role in the symbolic landscape of ancient Egypt by connecting the realms of the living and the dead. Based on our research, it can be excluded that an Old Kingdom lake was present at the investigated zone near Abusir, as the local subsoil was dominated by colluvial, aeolian and prehistorical fluvial deposits typical for the wadi and desert edge setting. Yet, all boreholes featured a distinct layer of degraded mud brick that was interpreted as a large platform or multiple features of Old Kingdom age. Potentially, these features were tied to boat-landing places, which could imply that a lake existed at the wadi-floodplain interface, not far from the investigated zone.

Keywords

• geomorphology
• ritual landscape
• nile valley
• holocene
• old kingdom