The Secrets of the Nile

As it turns out, the ancient Egyptians likely did neither of those things. Last spring, researchers announced an extraordinary discovery. A team of scientists has located a long-lost branch of the Nile that dried up thousands of years ago. The 40-mile-long waterway flowed right past the Pyramids of Giza (see "Rediscovering a Lost River" map, below).

That means the people of Egypt likely not only built these pyramids along this branch—they probably also used it to ferry building supplies to and from the construction sites.

This discovery “completes an important part of the past landscape puzzle,” Nick Marriner told reporters. He is a geography expert who studies ancient Egyptian landscapes and reviewed the new research. “By putting together these pieces, we can gain a clearer picture of what the Nile looked like.”

It turns out that the ancient Egyptians probably did not do those things. Last spring, researchers announced an extraordinary discovery. A team of scientists has found a long-lost branch of the Nile. It dried up thousands of years ago. The 40-mile-long waterway flowed right past the Pyramids of Giza (see "Rediscovering a Lost River" map, below).

That means the people of Egypt likely built these pyramids along this branch. They also probably used the water to ferry building supplies to and from the construction sites.

This discovery “completes an important part of the past landscape puzzle,” Nick Marriner told reporters. He is a geography expert who studies ancient Egyptian landscapes. He reviewed the new research. “By putting together these pieces, we can gain a clearer picture of what the Nile looked like,” he said.

The ancient Egyptian civilization spanned thousands of years, from about 3100 b.c. to 332 B.C. During that time, many people lived and worked near the Nile. The river as we know it today starts in central Africa and flows northward for about 4,100 miles to the Mediterranean Sea.

Egypt’s early inhabitants relied on the Nile for food and water, and also to transport people and goods. They raised crops and animals in the fertile regions alongside the river. Perhaps for these reasons, when ancient Egyptians set out to build what would become more than 100 pyramids, they constructed most of them near the modern-day Nile. Experts say laborers used the river to transport heavy building materials.

Yet about a third of the present-day country’s famous pyramids are found roughly 5 miles away from the Nile. They are crowded along a narrow strip of land in the barren desert. The three most famous are known as the Pyramids of Giza.

The ancient Egyptian civilization spanned thousands of years. It lasted from about 3100 B.C. to 332 B.C. During that time, many people lived and worked near the Nile. The river as we know it today starts in central Africa. It flows northward for about 4,100 miles to the Mediterranean Sea.

Egypt’s early inhabitants relied on the Nile for food and water. They raised crops and animals in the fertile regions alongside the river. They also used the river to transport people and goods. Perhaps that is why ancient Egyptians chose the area of the modern-day Nile when they set out to build more than 100 pyramids. Experts say that laborers used the river to transport heavy building materials.

Yet about a third of the present-day country’s famous pyramids are found about 5 miles away from the Nile. They are crowded along a narrow strip of land in the barren desert. The three most famous are known as the Pyramids of Giza.

Their location had always puzzled Eman Ghoneim. She is a professor of earth and ocean sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and the lead researcher on the Nile project.

“I was born and lived most of my life in Egypt,” she told reporters. “And one question that I remember asking myself since I was very young is: ‘Why did our ancestors build pyramids in this specific, odd place—and why so far from the water?’ I had this feeling like there was something more there.”

Their location had always puzzled Eman Ghoneim. She is a professor of earth and ocean sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is the lead researcher on the Nile project.

“I was born and lived most of my life in Egypt,” Ghoneim told reporters. “And one question that I remember asking myself since I was very young is: ‘Why did our ancestors build pyramids in this specific, odd place—and why so far from the water?’ I had this feeling like there was something more there.”

Acting on that hunch, Ghoneim and her team began studying the area around the Giza pyramids two years ago. They analyzed images created with radar satellite technology. The technology penetrates earth’s layers to produce images of underground features. That’s when the researchers noticed what appeared to be a dried-up river channel. 

To investigate further, the team took samples of sediment. They used large drills to dig up sections of earth from several miles deep in the ground. When the samples contained sand and gravel—common materials in riverbeds—they knew they had found remnants of a lost river. From there, they were able to map its location by combining the samples with the satellite images.

The river branch ran along the Pyramids of Giza and others nearby. It also connected to the main Nile. Researchers named the waterway the Ahramat (AH-ruh-maht) branch, after the Arabic word for pyramids. The ancient branch likely played a key role in transporting workers and building materials.

In fact, Ghoneim believes ancient Egyptians used the Ahramat branch like a “superhighway” for boats commuting to and from the construction sites. 

Ghoneim and her team acted on that hunch. Two years ago, they began studying the area around the Giza pyramids. They analyzed images created with radar satellite technology. The technology sees through earth’s layers to produce images of underground features. That is when the researchers noticed what seemed to be a dried-up river channel.

The team wanted to investigate further. They took samples of sediment. They used large drills to dig up sections of earth from several miles deep in the ground. The samples contained sand and gravel. Those materials are common in riverbeds. So they knew they had found remnants of a lost river. Then they combined the samples with the satellite images. That allowed them to map the lost river’s location.

The river branch ran along the Pyramids of Giza and others nearby. It also connected to the main Nile. Researchers named the waterway the Ahramat (AH-ruh-maht) branch. It is named after the Arabic word for pyramids. The ancient branch likely played a key role in transporting workers and building materials.

In fact, Ghoneim believes ancient Egyptians used the Ahramat branch like a “superhighway” for boats traveling to and from the construction sites.

Researchers say when the pyramids were built, the land around the Ahramat branch was likely as lush as it was near the rest of the Nile. But they believe the waterway slowly began to dry up about 4,200 years ago, in part because of a severe drought. Today only a few lakes and channels remain where the branch once ran. 

Ghoneim and her team plan to continue studying the region. They suspect there is more of the Ahramat branch to uncover and that it may have reached as far south as the Egypt-Sudan border. There could even be other branches of the Nile buried beneath the desert waiting to be discovered.

The researchers also want to learn how ancient Egyptians coped with their changing landscape. Despite the Ahramat branch drying up, the civilization continued to thrive for nearly 2,000 more years. Experts say understanding how people back then adapted to their changing environment could help us manage our own climate-related challenges. The world today faces increasing threats caused by climate change, including droughts, heat waves, and rising sea levels.

“When we learn from the past,” Ghoneim told reporters, “we can prepare for the future.” 

Researchers say that when the pyramids were built, the land around the Ahramat branch was likely as lush as it was near the rest of the Nile. But they believe the waterway slowly began to dry up about 4,200 years ago. That was in part because of a severe drought. Today only a few lakes and channels remain where the river branch once ran.

Ghoneim and her team plan to continue studying the region. They suspect there is more of the Ahramat branch to uncover. They think that it may have reached as far south as the Egypt-Sudan border. And other branches of the Nile could be buried beneath the desert, waiting to be discovered.

The researchers also want to learn how ancient Egyptians coped with their changing landscape. The Ahramat branch dried up. Yet the civilization continued to thrive for nearly 2,000 more years. Experts say understanding how people back then adapted to their changing environment could help us manage our own climate-related challenges. The world today faces increasing threats caused by climate change. That includes droughts, heat waves, and rising sea levels.

“When we learn from the past,” Ghoneim told reporters, “we can prepare for the future.”