The discovery of the Ahramat Nile Branch: a hidden ancient waterway of the pyramid chain of Egypt

The construction of the Ancient Egyptian pyramids along the Western Desert margin of the Nile floodplain indicates the prior existence of a major waterway that was used by the pharaonic builders of these iconic sites. Today, however, no major river exists in the immediate area, with the Nile being located several kilometers away from all the pyramid sites. Analysis of radar satellite data, supported by geophysical survey and soil coring, has led to the discovery of the Nile’s ancient Ahramat Branch (meaning Pyramids Branch in Arabic) passing adjacent to the chain of pyramids between Faiyum south and Giza north (~ 38 Pyramid structures). The course of this branch, now concealed beneath the aeolian desert sand and the cultivated floodplain, is about 100 km long. Although invisible at ground-level, segments of the Ahramat Branch appear in radar imagery due to radar waves’ ability to penetrate the Earth surface and reveal subsurface terrain. Furthermore, satellite data revealed numerous buried sandy tributaries, feeding into this branch. During the building era of the pyramids, these tributaries would likely have acted as lagoons that hosted harbours to dock and shelter boats away from the busy traffic of the main river course. The orientation of several pyramids’ causeways, perpendicular to the Ahramat Branch and their termination at its bank, imply that this former branch and its tributaries were simultaneously active at the time of the pyramids’ construction during the Old Kingdom and through the Middle Kingdom. This research has produced the first map of the ancient Nile branch in this region, which will enable us to piece together a comprehensive picture of Ancient Egypt’s former waterscape and understand how change in the environment drove human activities in the region.