RECONSTRUCTING THE PALEOGEOGRAPHY OF THE NEW KINGDOM EGYPT EASTERN FRONTIER USING CORONA PHOTOGRAPHY, FIELD MAPPING AND GIS

The eastern frontier of New Kingdom Egypt (1550-1100 B.C.) was defined by a perimeter of recently discovered fortress-settlements in the northwest Sinai, just east of the Suez Canal. Field mapping and interpretation of satellite imagery is being integrated with GIS in an ongoing study to reconstruct the paleogeography of the area encompassing New Kingdom settlements. CORONA satellite photography is particularly useful because the high-resolution negatives from spaceborne cameras were acquired before recent urbanization and agricultural projects obscured historical and geological surface features.

Broad sand-sheets with plant-stabilized dunes and scattered, muddy sabkhas characterize the present geomorphology of the study area. Holocene sedimentary facies are discontinuous, reflecting the coastal-deltaic setting of the area for much of the past 5000 years. Along the north edge of the study area a discontinuous sand-dune ridge runs between ancient Pelusium (Roman) to modern Qantara (NE to SW). This ridge appears to be controlled by the Pelusium Line fault and marks the shoreline of the ancient Mediterranean coast. After New Kingdom times the shoreline moved northeast with the advance of the ancient Pelusiac branch of the Nile River. A sabkha about 7 km in diameter is located south of the dune ridge, the remains of an ancient lagoon in which dense, olive-gray clay with sparse shells accumulated. The paleolagoon was filled with sediments delivered by local drainage or Pelusiac distributaries, probably beginning prior to New Kingdom settlement in the area. Tell Hebua I is located on the dune ridge along the ancient shoreline. Tell Hebua II and Tell el-Borg are located on a sand ridge along the southwest shore of the paleolagoon. A dry route probably existed between the two sites. A channel, now buried but evident on CORONA imagery, passed through Tell el-Borg and extended eastward toward the axis of paleolagoon. Other linear features evident on the CORONA imagery may relate to New Kingdom archaeology.