8 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Radar Detects Long-lost River in Egypt and Could Explain How The Pyramids Were Built

More than 30 pyramids in Egypt are located in an unremarkable strip of barren desert far from the shores of the modern Nile River, and now scientists may have found the reason for this. The extinct branch of the Nile River could explain the pyramids’ location and how they were built, according to recent research.

The discovery of this extinct waterway, according to the University of North Carolina Wilmington team, explains the high concentration of pyramids in the region and provides an answer to the question of how materials were transported to build the Giza complex and other pyramids that dot the Western Desert Plateau.

The strip near the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis includes the Great Pyramid of Giza — the only surviving structure of the seven wonders of the ancient world — as well as the Khafre, Cheops and Mykerinos pyramids.

The pyramid field is a fair distance from the Nile River we see today. Archaeologists had long thought that ancient Egyptians must have used a nearby waterway to move the giant materials used to build the pyramids.

In a recent study, researchers searched for the potential location of a former river branch that may have run alongside the pyramid fields, close to the Western Desert Plateau’s foothills, using satellite imagery. They went to the region to gather sediment samples and conduct geophysical surveys after discovering a viable candidate.

The watercourse of the ancient Ahramat Branch borders a large number of pyramids dating from the Old Kingdom to the Second Intermediate Period, spanning between the Third Dynasty and the 13th Dynasty. Image credit: Eman Ghoneim et al.
The watercourse of the ancient Ahramat Branch borders a large number of pyramids dating from the Old Kingdom to the Second Intermediate Period, spanning between the Third Dynasty and the 13th Dynasty. Image credit: Eman Ghoneim et al.

Researchers claim this revealed evidence of a 64-kilometer (40-mile) ancient branch of the River Nile that has since disappeared. They propose naming the long river “Ahramat,” which means “pyramids” in Arabic.

In a report published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, the researchers stated: “Many of the pyramids, dating to the Old and Middle Kingdoms, have causeways that lead to the branch and terminate with Valley Temples which may have acted as river harbors along it in the past. We suggest that the Ahramat Branch played a role in the monuments’ construction and that it was simultaneously active and used as a transportation waterway for workmen and building materials to the pyramids’ sites.”

It seems the river branch was approximately 39 miles long and over 2,000 feet wide, however following an intense drought, the strip became caked in windblown sand and was gradually lost to the desert and farmland.

Surveys in the field and cores of sediment from the site confirmed the presence of the river, according to the study in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. Unlike the arid and inhospitable landscape known today, up to 6,000 years ago, the valley was a network of freshwater marshes and floodplains, with inhabitants moving to natural levees of the river and jeziras (islands) by the beginning of the Old Kingdom period (around 2686 B.C.E.).

The Ahramat Branch moved steadily eastward, with abandoned channels visible in 1911 historical maps of the area. The Dahshur Lake is probably the last existing trace of the tributary.

“As branches disappeared, Ancient Egyptian cities and towns also silted up and disappeared, and we have no clue actually where to find them,” said Dr Eman Ghoneim.

Communications Earth & Environment

Related Articles

Mysterious ruins discovered at the bottom of Lake Van, Türkiye’s largest lake

16 August 2023

16 August 2023

At the bottom of Lake Van, Türkiye’s largest salty soda lake with 3,712 square kilometers, divers discovered a cemetery and...

Turkish researchers use Artificial Intelligence to read cuneatic Hittite tablets

9 January 2023

9 January 2023

Thanks to a project implemented in Türkiye, 1,954 ancient Hittite tablets are being read for the first time using artificial...

Archaeologists unearth 128 ancient urn burial tombs for children in north China

22 November 2021

22 November 2021

Archaeologists have uncovered urn burial chambers containing the remains of 128 infants among the ruins of an ancient city of...

Using 3D scanners, archaeologists have identified the person who carved Jelling Stone Runes

29 September 2023

29 September 2023

Researchers at the National Museum of Denmark using 3D scans have identified who carved the Jelling Stone Runes, located in...

Iron Age stone altar and gold-plated ceremonial sword discovered in Kazakhstan

14 August 2021

14 August 2021

A stone altar and a gold-plated ceremonial sword used in the early Iron Age were discovered during excavations along the...

Southwest Germany’s Oldest Gold Artifact Found

28 May 2021

28 May 2021

Archaeologists discovered the 3,800-year-old burial of a woman who died when she was around 20 years old in what is...

A new Archaeological Site has been Discovered in Oman

7 July 2021

7 July 2021

Oman‘s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism recently discovered an ancient site in the town of Al Khobar, Sumail Province, Al...

In southern Turkey, an ancient quake-damaged structure was discovered

9 November 2021

9 November 2021

In the ancient city of Perre in southeastern Turkey, a building damaged in an earthquake believed to have happened in...

Archaeologists Discovered 8,200-year-old Eyeliner in Türkiye’s Yeşilova Höyük

16 September 2024

16 September 2024

During the archaeological excavations in Yeşilova Höyük (Yeşilova Mound) in Bornova district of Izmir, an 8,200-year-old kohl made of stone...

Burial of Ascetic Monk in Chains Reveals Surprising Identity: A Woman in Byzantine Jerusalem

15 February 2025

15 February 2025

A recent archaeological discovery near Jerusalem has challenged long-held beliefs about ascetic practices in the Byzantine era, revealing the remains...

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

30 March 2023

30 March 2023

Mysterious mummies are a symbol of ancient lost times, which we often associate with Egypt and other ancient civilizations. Therefore,...

A Scientific Surprise: Bering Land Bridge formed surprisingly late during last ice age

1 January 2023

1 January 2023

A new study shows that the Bering Land Bridge, the strip of land that once connected Asia to Alaska, emerged...

Millennia-Old İron Production Facilities Found in Iran

2 May 2021

2 May 2021

Archaeologists have uncovered many millennia-old iron manufacturing sites in a historical village in southcentral Iran. A local tourism official declared...

A Detectorist has Discovered a Completely Unique Medieval Seal Matrix in the UK

2 December 2023

2 December 2023

A medieval seal die, described by experts as ‘completely unique’, has been found by a metal detector at a field...

2,000-year-old stone faces and engravings emerge amid severe drought in Amazon

24 October 2023

24 October 2023

As a result of record-low water levels brought on by the region’s worst drought in over a century, faces carved...