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Late Bronze Age paleogeography along the ancient Ways of Horus in Northwest Sinai, Egypt
Author(s) -
Moshier Stephen O.,
ElKalani Ali
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.20227
Subject(s) - holocene , bronze age , geology , context (archaeology) , archaeology , sedimentary depositional environment , fluvial , sedimentary rock , marsh , geoarchaeology , palaeogeography , geography , paleontology , structural basin , volcanism , ecology , wetland , biology , tectonics
The northwest Sinai contained the eastern frontier of New Kingdom Egypt during the Late Bronze Age. The ancient Pelusaic branch of the Nile Delta influenced the environmental setting of this region at that time. Fortresses were built along the coastal byway through the study area known as the Ways of Horus to protect Egyptian‐held territory from immigrants and intruders from Canaan and the Mediterranean Sea. Building on previous geomorphic studies in the region, this paper presents the results of field investigations of Holocene sedimentary deposits, aided by satellite photography, used to create a paleogeographic map that places archaeological sites in their proper environmental context. CORONA satellite photographs from the late 1960s reveal surface features that have been obscured by more recent agricultural development in the region. Canals dug for an agricultural project provided easy access to the shallow subsurface for mapping the extent of Holocene sediments representing barrier coast, lagoon, estuarine, fluvial, and marsh depositional environments. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.