Author:

Keywords:

archaeology, remote sensing, Science & Technology, Social Sciences, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Physical Sciences, Anthropology, Archaeology, Geosciences, Multidisciplinary, Geology, Remote sensing, Egyptology, Ancient quarries, Amarna period, IMAGERY, Remote Sensing, quarrying, Amarna Period, 0402 Geochemistry, 0403 Geology, 2101 Archaeology, 4301 Archaeology

Abstract:

Limestone and sandstone are the most important building stones of Ancient Egypt. The abundance of stone used in various aspects of Egyptian culture led to the exploitation of almost two hundred individual quarry areas, dating from the Early Dynastic to the Islamic Period. These quarries are situated in the range of hills to the east or west of the river Nile. One, however, cannot study the social organisation and logistics behind stone quarrying without looking at the available transport facilities. Whereas long distance transport was carried out by boat, stone had to be transported from the quarry to the river. Therefore, road building must have been one of the crucial features in the technological infrastructure of quarry areas. In this paper very high spatial resolution satellite (VHSRS) technology is combined with archaeological information to study the interplay between quarries and roads in the greater Dayr al-Bārsha region, Middle Egypt. Remote sensing in this regard implies a significant advantage over traditional surveying techniques, as it provides the spatial context required to study the spatial organisation and logistics behind stone quarrying. The spectral information content of the imagery moreover enables to add information on road characteristics and typology. In order to investigate the interrelation, emphasis has first been laid on the detection and extraction of ancient roads and quarry remains using remote sensing technologies. Results indicate that spectral content is of minor importance for road detection compared to the spatial resolution of the imagery. In contrast to filtering techniques, enhancement using histogram equalization provides superior results. Taking into account these spectral and morphological considerations, four types of roads could be identified, all of which are connected to quarrying activity or settlement patterns dating back to the Pharaonic period. A distinction could be made between walking paths used to carry materials from the stone quarries, and tracks that were most likely used by carts or sledges. Moreover, the walking paths can be subdivided into paths that are situated at steep slope sections and those that are used to interconnect the different quarries. Some of these roads were reused by monastic communities which established themselves in the quarries in the late antique – early Islamic period. With the altered function, from operational quarries to settlement, the nature of transport and thereby the criteria for roads changed, causing also their layout to change in this later period. All these observations thus clearly demonstrate the importance of VHSRS data in the study of ancient road networks.