Researchers from the University of North Carolina Wilmington have uncovered a 64-kilometer-long, previously unidentified branch of the River Nile, named The Ahramat, that likely played a crucial role in the construction of Egypt's ancient pyramids. This newly discovered waterway would have provided an essential route for transporting building materials to the pyramid sites.
Using satellite imagery, geophysical surveys, and sediment core analyses, the team pinpointed the location of this former river branch running along the foothills of the Western Desert Plateau, near the pyramid fields. The study indicates that many pyramids, built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, had causeways leading to this branch, suggesting it functioned as a transportation waterway.
The researchers propose that the accumulation of windblown sand and a severe drought around 4,200 years ago caused the branch to migrate east and eventually become silted up. This branch's existence aligns with soil and sediment data, helping to explain why the pyramids are situated in what is now a narrow, inhospitable desert strip far from the current River Nile.
The findings were published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.