Lost Sites of Ancient Egypt Found
27/05/2011 - Seventeen lost Eygptian pyramids, over a thousand tombs and more than three thousand ancient settlements have been discoverd from analysis of satellite imagery. BBC News reports that initial excavations have already confirmed some of the findings, made by University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. Egyptologist Sarah Parcak and her team analysed images taken from satellites orbiting 700km above the earth, using infrared imaging to highlight different materials under the surface.
Infrared imaging differentiates between the mud bricks ancient Egyptians used to build structures and soil and earth, as the bricks are more dense than the surrounding soil. The higher density of the bricks means they absorb more light, as well as absorb different regions of light in the spectrum, and is thus detectable due to the light that is reflected back.
Among the initial excavations, the city streets of the ancient city of Tanis were revealed near the modern-day city of San El Hagar. A 3,000-year-old house has since been excavated, and the outline of the structure almost perfectly matches what the satellite imagery had shown, thus validating the method of exploration and quite probably the rest of Parcak's team's findings. The discovered sites are just the tip of the sandberg, as Parcak theorizes many more sites are buried even deeper, covered by the silt of the River Nile. The satellite method, if put into common use, would allow teams to find better starting points when faced with a large site, and in theory, would make the exploration and excavation processes move more quickly than they have in the past.
src & 2 photos @ http://www.gim-international.com/news/id5793-Lost_Sites_of_Ancient_Egypt_Found.html?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20110531+-+GIM
Infrared imaging differentiates between the mud bricks ancient Egyptians used to build structures and soil and earth, as the bricks are more dense than the surrounding soil. The higher density of the bricks means they absorb more light, as well as absorb different regions of light in the spectrum, and is thus detectable due to the light that is reflected back.
Among the initial excavations, the city streets of the ancient city of Tanis were revealed near the modern-day city of San El Hagar. A 3,000-year-old house has since been excavated, and the outline of the structure almost perfectly matches what the satellite imagery had shown, thus validating the method of exploration and quite probably the rest of Parcak's team's findings. The discovered sites are just the tip of the sandberg, as Parcak theorizes many more sites are buried even deeper, covered by the silt of the River Nile. The satellite method, if put into common use, would allow teams to find better starting points when faced with a large site, and in theory, would make the exploration and excavation processes move more quickly than they have in the past.
src & 2 photos @ http://www.gim-international.com/news/id5793-Lost_Sites_of_Ancient_Egypt_Found.html?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20110531+-+GIM