a new study conducted the most comprehensive survey of egypts karnak temple revealing unprecedented detail 1234755494

A new study published in the journal Antiquity reveals that Egypt’s Karnak Temple was originally built on a small island, or “fluvial terrace,” surrounded by river channels. The research, led by Ben Pennington of the University of Southampton, is the first comprehensive geoarchaeological survey of the site, analyzing 61 sediment cores and thousands of ceramic fragments. It dates the earliest occupation of Karnak to around 2520 BCE, with ceramics from 2305–1980 BCE, and shows that ancient Egyptians geo-engineered the landscape by dumping desert sand into channels to create new building land.