This special issue includes primarily studies presented at the DFG-funded (German Research Foundation) international workshop “Geoarchaeology of the Nile Delta: Current Research and Future Prospects”, which took place in Würzburg in November 2019, pooling geoarchaeological case studies from different regions of the Nile Delta. Encompassing the broad interdisciplinary audience of the meeting, the nine articles in this special issue report on current geoarchaeological research projects in the Nile Delta and the application of innovative methods and approaches in this context, reflecting the wide range of current developments and challenges in geoarchaeological research in this region.

The study of Altmeyer et al. (2021) presents results on geophysical, stratigraphic, and pXRF surveys in the surroundings of the site Kom el-Gir in the northwestern Nile Delta. The synthesis of these investigations allows for a comprehensive reconstruction of a former fluvial network in the immediate surroundings of this site and confirms previous studies that suggested a larger Nile branch in this region.

The study of Crépy and Boussac (2021) investigates the palaeohydrology of ancient Lake Mareotis in the northwestern Nile Delta near the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, precursor of the modern Mariut lagoon, which acted as a gateway between the Nile valley and the Mediterranean Sea in ancient times. To reconstruct the extension of the western lake(s) at different periods, this study is based on the reassessment of geoarchaeological data and the analysis of early scholars' accounts, maps, and satellite images. The data show that Lake Mareotis experienced a drawdown in its western part during the 1st millennium BCE, followed by the formation of several distinct lakes and building activities in emerging areas during the Hellenistic period. During the 2nd century CE several canals were dug to connect the sites of the western wadi Mariut to the eastern part of the Mariut basin, leading to a reconfiguration of the lake(s).

Based on the assumption that lake-level changes, connections with the Nile and the sea, and possible high-energy events considerably controlled the human occupation history of ancient Lake Mareotis, the study of Flaux et al. (2021) reconstructs the lake's hydrology in historical times using faunal remains, geochemistry, and geoarchaeological indicators of relative lake-level changes. The data show both an increase in Nile sediment inputs to the basin during the 1st millennia BCE and CE and a lake-level rise of ca. 1.5 m during the Roman period. A high-energy deposit may explain an enigmatic sedimentary hiatus previously documented in the chronostratigraphy of the lake sediments.

The article of Khaled (2021) points out that the vast and fertile agricultural lands of the Nile Delta formed the backbone of the economy of the Old Kingdom. Foodstuffs and a wide variety of goods that were produced in this area were mandatory for the conduction of royal building projects like, for example, the erection of pyramids at the royal cemeteries in Sakkara, Giza, and other sites. To establish unhindered access to these resources, an effective administrative system came into place, based on the territorial distribution of the delta into districts, the so-called nomes. In these nomes, agricultural units (“domains”) produced, collected, and delivered agricultural products for the needs of the royal household. New pictorial and written evidence from the causeway of the pyramid of King Sahure at Abusir provides us with fresh information on the territorial administration of the Nile Delta in the 5th dynasty.

For a long time, ancient Egyptian texts and descriptions of Greek and Roman historiographers were the only available sources of information about water bodies as parts of the sacred landscape of temples in the Nile Delta. The recent introduction and application of geoarchaeological methods in archaeological projects, however, led to an unprecedented accumulation of new geophysical, sedimentological, and archaeological data which can be utilized to identify and locate lakes, canals, and river branches in close vicinity to the temple areas. The study of Lange-Athinodorou (2021) reviews the available geoarchaeological information on the temples of the cities of Buto, Sais, and Bubastis, which were home to important goddesses acknowledged all over Egypt, and compares these with the information coming from textual sources. The combined results allow for reconstructions of the most elemental parts of the sacred landscapes of those shrines, their role in religious and daily life activities, and their surrounding hydro-geography and natural landscapes.

In the absence of geoarchaeological indications, Schiestl (2021) applied a combined analysis of historical sources, satellite imagery, and the TanDEM-X digital elevation model to investigate the Butic Canal, a waterway that crossed the northern Nile Delta in a transversal way during Roman times. The detection of debris from the excavation of the canal, which became visible as a linear elevated feature in the digital elevation model, allowed for the identification of the eastern section of the canal. The discovery is of relevance as this artificial watercourse resulted from the need for a more economic and less time-consuming transportation route through the delta, and it was a manifestation of imperial investments in the infrastructure of the eastern part of the Roman Empire.

The study of Stanley and Wedl (2021) addresses the question of how climate and environmental changes affected the societies of Ancient Egypt. By examining marine sediments in the Levantine Basin, they were able to demonstrate reduced depositional accumulation rates and altered compositional attributes of the sediment facies mainly from 2300 to 2000 BCE. These effects were presumably triggered by displaced climatic belts leading to decreased rainfall and lower Nile flows, as well as modified oceanographic conditions. As a result agricultural production probably decreased significantly, possibly leading to a changed social, political, and economic situation that could have promoted the disintegration of the political system at the end of the Old Kingdom.

The study of Ullmann et al. (2020) analyses Landsat remote sensing data, acquired between 1985 and 2019 for the entire Nile Delta, to detect surface anomalies that are potentially related to buried near-surface palaeogeographical features. Using the normalized difference wetness index calculated for months with low and high evapotranspiration, anomalies in the immediate surroundings of several Pleistocene sand hills (“geziras”) and tells of the eastern delta were identified. This approach allowed them to map the potential near-surface continuation of these geziras and the indication of buried river branches in the northern and eastern Nile Delta.

The paper of Wilson and Ghazala (2021) investigates the embedding of the ancient city of Sais (Sa el-Hagar) within the surrounding natural landscape of the western-central Nile Delta and explores the possibility that certain features of the landscape influenced the choice of the settlement location. By combining geological, geophysical, remote sensing, and archaeological data, this study aims to describe and reconstruct the deltaic environs and hydro-geography of Sais. A special focus lies on the question of if research can determine the specific nature of human interactions with the landscape, i.e. if human occupants reacted in a proactive or reactive manner. The study shows that over a period of several millennia (i.e. from around 4000 BCE to the modern day) the settlement at Sais occupied several locations in the immediate environs of a moving Nile branch. Ultimately, the positive effects of the local hydrography led to the establishment of a capital city in the 7th century BCE.

Information provided throughout the text is available in previously published studies by authors cited throughout the text and listed in the references.

The manuscript was prepared by JM, ELA, and TU.

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This article is part of the special issue “Geoarchaeology of the Nile Delta”. It is a result of the workshop “Geoarchaeology of the Nile Delta: Current Research and Future Prospects”, Würzburg, Germany, 29–30 November 2019.

This open-access publication was funded by Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg.

This paper was edited by Hans von Suchodoletz and reviewed by one anonymous referee.