Geoarchaeology
Geology of Ancient Mediterranean Harbors – Studying Sediments for Clues to the Past
Geoarchaeology is a fascinating application of geologic tools and disciplines, and I came across a post on the Through the Sandglass blog about a Geology Today article on “Coastal and ancient harbour archaeology”. In a […]
Geoarchaeology
LIDAR Helps Locate New England Archaeological Sites
One of the advantages of LIDAR topography data is the ability to “see through” vegetation so to speak. The light beams aren’t actually seeing through physical objects, but because of the high density of LIDAR […]
Geoarchaeology
Drilling to Save Aswan Obelisk Quarry
The Ancient Egyptians are still marveled at today for some of their enduring hard-rock creations. Of course everyone thinks of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids, but perhaps just as impressive if not more impressive were the gigantic obelisks that were quarried and somehow transported into place. There is work underway to preserve a rare archaeological site, a granite quarry with a large unfinished obelisk near Aswan.
Archaeological evidence combined with some shallow seismic refraction surveys and bore holes confirm the finding of a canal believed to have been used to transport these obelisks to the Nile River during flooding. However, dewatering will be needed to excavate these canals to verify these claims. Another problem is the salt deposits that are slowly destroying the quarry. National Driller Magazine is the location of this interesting article. Link after the break. (Photo by Son of Groucho)