THE TRUTH BEHIND THE ALLEGED DISCOVERY OF A NEOLITHIC 'CITY'IN EGYPT'S FAIYUM OASIS

A New Report by Andrew Collins

 

London, Thursday, 31 January 2008: Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) announce the discovery of a 7,000-year-old city in the Faiyum Oasis in northern Egypt.

The discovery, made public on Tuesday, 29 January, was apparently made by a team of US and Dutch archaeologists working close to the Birket Qarun lake, the Lake Moeris of antiquity.

The prehistoric settlement, located at Kom Aushim, close to the ruins of a newly discovered Graeco-Roman village, is thought to have been constructed by Egypt's 'first farmers', who thrived in the region between 5200 and 4500 BC.

According to Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA: 'An electromagnetic survey revealed the existence in the Karanis region of a network of walls and roads similar to those constructed during the Greco-Roman period.'

Hawass goes on to say that the site consists mainly of 'walls and houses in terracotta or dressed limestone as well as a large quantity of pottery and the foundations of ovens and grain stores.'

The 'city' is situated just seven kilometres (four miles) from the Faiyum lake, says local director of antiquities Ahmed Abdel Alim, and thus would probably have been close to its shores in ancient times.

Much of the settlement remains buried beneath the sands of Egypt. Excavations are under way, with further announcements expected in due course.

For the original report from the Egyptian news agency AFP/MENA click here


According to a blog posted on the Egyptology News site on Wednesday, 27 January 2008:

"The discovery [of the city] was made by a University of California (UCLA) team in the area of Kom Aushim. In the area there were the remains of settlement structures made of mudbrick and decorated blocks of granite. They also found various types of vessel and stone tools. The remains were covered with a layer of calcium carbonate, which indicates that they had at some stage been covered by the waters of Lake Qarun."

Click here to read the full story. Thanks to Chris Ogilvie Herald for first bringing this story to my attention, and suggesting its implications.


After writing the above report, I was advised that some confusion might have crept into the story released by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. The dressed limestone and carved granite blocks belong not to the Neolithic settlement, but to the Graeco-Roman village. It is now suspected that the mix up came about through the sloppiness of the Egyptian press agency involved. Somehow they managed to confuse together announcements made at the same time concerning the Neolithic settlement and the Graeco-Roman village - both sites being in close proximity.

So in summary, no Neolithic city has been found. It was all a confusion created by the Egyptian press agency originally responsible for releasing the information offered by the SCA.

To help understand what really was found, read the following from Egypt's respectable Al-Aharm Weekly:

"In order to understand the layout of the Qaret Al-Rusas Roman village, on the northeastern side of Lake Qaroun, without excavating it, the mission carried a magnetic survey. The map shows clear wall lines and streets in an orthogonal pattern typical of the Graeco-Roman period. The village has well-preserved Roman remains of decorated limestone blocks and traces of mud-brick walls which show up in two robber trenches."

See http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/883/he2.htm

So the magnetic survey relates not to the Neolithic settlement, but to the Graeco-Roman 'village'. Then we read separately of what has emerged from the same site dating to the Neolithic era:

UCLA-Dutch team uncovers Egypt's earliest agricultural settlement


By Meg Sullivan | 2/11/2008 9:01:00 PM

"Archaeologists from UCLA and the University of Groningen (RUG) in the Netherlands have found the earliest evidence ever discovered of an ancient Egyptian agricultural settlement, including farmed grains, remains of domesticated animals, pits for cooking and even floors for what appear to be dwellings.

"The findings, which were unearthed in 2006 and are still being analyzed, also suggest possible trade links with the Red Sea, including a thoroughfare from Mesopotamia, which is known to have practiced agriculture 2,000 years before ancient Egypt."

As newly released photos show, there is no evidence of a Neolithic 'city', and it is unlikely that one will be found.



This said, we hold out hope that out of this confusion, some kind of major discovery is still possible at the site of the Neolithic settlement, but until then we can only wish the archaeologists involved every success in their work.

Thanks again to Chris Ogilvie Herald for keeping me up to date with the latest news.