The Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project

Scots Egyptologist and archaeologist, Ian Mathieson, has made remarkable discoveries in more than a decade of work as director of the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project.

In 1990 he was awarded a concession from the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt to survey and excavate the burial ground of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis. Situated 25 kilometres south-west of Cairo, the area is next to the Step Pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser of the 3rd Dynasty.

This revolutionary use of the latest techniques of scientific survey is revealing the world of ancient Egypt long lost beneath the desert sands.

In 2002 Glasgow Museums became the Scottish sponsor of the project, which had first been supported by the National Museums of Scotland. The Friends of Glasgow Museums have generously contributed towards the costs of the project.

The Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project is also supported by the Wainwright Fund (Oxford), the Russell Trust, and private and corporate donors.

Saqqara lies on the edge of the Sahara desert looking down over the floodplain of the Nile to the South of Cairo, south-west of the three pyramids at Giza. The government of Egypt believe that around 60 per cent of the country's artefacts and tombs remain undiscovered.

Images
A range of images from the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project can be viewed through the slide show links on the right hand side of this page. Image sizes vary from 20 to 90kb in size, and are best viewed at a screen resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels.

Film Footage
You can view film footage of the survey and excavation work at Saqqara by downloading the files on the right hand side of this page or the links below. File sizes range from 8MB to 16MB. The files are best viewed in QuickTime viewer, and you can download this software for free by following the link to Apple's website.

As the files are large, it may take several minutes for them to display and play. This will depend on the speed of your internet connection.

Saqqara movie 1, excavation, with sound (QuickTime file, file size 11MB)

Saqqara movie 2, surveying, with sound (QuickTime file, file size 8MB)

Saqqara movie 3, surveying, with sound (QuickTime file, file size 16MB)

Saqqara movie 4, surveying, with sound (QuickTime file, file size 16MB)

Background
The story of Saqqara is a long one, and one which lends itself to comparisons with an Indiana Jones movie. The site of the Serapeum had been recorded in 24 BCE by the Greek geographer, philosopher and historian Amaseia Pontus Strabo (63 BCE-21 AD), who said he had found:

'A temple to Serapis in such a sandy place that the wind heaps up sand dunes beneath which we saw sphinxes, some half buried, some buried up to the head, from which one can suppose that the way to this temple could not be without danger if one were caught in a sudden wind storm.' ('Serapeum' - from (Usir-Hapy) the deceased Apis bull, Greek (Osorapis) later identified with the Ptolemaic god Serapis, the composite in final forms of Zeus, Helios, Dionysus, Hades and Asklepios.)

The period from the 15th century to the 18th century saw visits from antiquarians, but no true archaeological work was done during this time.

In 1798, the French Emperor Napoleon ordered an expedition of learned (Savants) to search for the Serapeum as part of their survey, but they failed to find it. However, in 1850 the French archaeologist A E Mariette - who had read Strabo - did discover the complex.

Mariette and his team began excavations, and eventually found the route to the Serapeum lined by 135 sphinxes and a buried temple courtyard. It was not until 1851 that they made entry to the catacomb where they found the sarcophagi of the Apis bulls, some weighing up to 70 tons, and the mummified burial of Prince Khaemwaset, who was a son of Ramesses II.

Further excavation work done in 1852 by Mariette revealed more Apis burials, ranging in date from year 30 of Ramesses II down to the 22nd Dynasty, and from Amenophis III of the 18th Dynasty through to the 19th Dynasty.

From this date onwards there was a considerable amount of excavation carried out on the Saqqara Necropolis, the major contributors being the Prussian C R Lepsius who carried out survey and excavations in 1842-45; Gaston Maspero in 1860; Jaques de Morgan in 1896; W M F Petrie and J E Quibell in 1900; Walter Emery in 1950; and Egyptians Ahmed Fakhry, Zakaria Goneim, and A S Hussein.

The Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project
Just as Mariette had read Strabo in the nineteenth century, Ian Mathieson read Mariette in the twentieth century, and he decided to apply to the Egyptian government to explore the same area the French archaeologist had worked. Permission was granted, and the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project has gone on to record some outstanding discoveries.

The first major discovery was a stela (gravestone) depicting the burial over 2,500 years ago of a high status Persian administrator when Persia occupied Egypt - the first period of Persian rule in Egypt was 525 to 404 BCE; the second period was from 343 to 332 BCE. The stela is now housed in the Cairo Museum.

But by far the most important discovery came in 2001 when the team found a temple complex dating back 2,500 years. The centre of the Saqqara excavation holds the burial place of the sacred Apis Bull, known as the Serapeum. Room-sized sarcophagi held mummies of the huge bulls.

The Egyptians worshipped the Apis bull, which was thought to have been an incarnation of Ptah who was seen as the first of all gods, the creator of the world. One Apis bull was worshipped at a time, when it died a day of national mourning was declared. The dead bull was embalmed and its corpse taken along the sacred way - the Serapeum Way - from Memphis to Saqqara.

In 2002 and 2003, the Saqqara team did extensive geophysical surveys of the area and discovered many tomb structures and a complicated area of structures which could be large tombs subdivided by smaller burials, workshops or living quarters.

The team decided to extend the survey to the east and south, covering areas of disturbed ground where excavations during 1850 to 1960 had uncovered many structures without accurately surveying or recording them. The structures were now covered by windblown sand and lost to records.

In 2004, a number of finds were recorded. In addition to several large mastabas (rectangular brick or stone tombs) and smaller structures, the major find of the season was the re-discovery of the Serapeum Way which Mariette had excavated in 1852.

Mariette had found 135 sphinxes lining the ceremonial route from the Pyramid of Teti to the Serapeum along which the Apis bulls were taken for burial in the underground galleries of the Serapeum.

Further excavations by Mariette uncovered the dromos entrance (dromos means ceremonial approach to the Serapeum), the galleries and the temples to Serapis and Apis, as well as a semicircle of statues to the Greek philosophers and poets.

Most of the sphinx statues are in the Cairo Museum and in the Louvre, and the whole area - with the exception of the philosopher's statues - is again buried under many metres of sand.

2004 also confirmed the value and accuracy of the geophysical and topographical surveys. The use of the gradiometer to delineate sub-surface features has been amply proved by the small-scale sondage trenches (sondage is a sounding trench which allows the depth to be judged) which were excavated in 2001, 2002 and 2003 to test the anomalies, which are differences in readings showing that a structure or geological feature is causing the data increase or decrease, in this case most probably mudbrick tombs, temples or chapels.

In all cases, the accuracy of the topographic survey has allowed the team to open the sondage exactly over the anomaly shown by the geophysical data. The saving of labour time, and the ability to keep excavation to strict limits, means the environmental damage is controlled and the archaeological interpretation of the site enhanced.

From a report by a German archaeologist, the walls of the Serapeum Way and the Dromos were covered with graffiti by visiting pilgrims. The chapels and any existing sphinx platforms should have hieroglyphic dedications. Our experts Tony Leahy and Elizabeth Bettles will record and translate this material.

The Work Schedule
Work at Saqqara is usually done in September and October each year. Most of the team are employed by universities, and this ties in with the academic year. It is also a time of the year when the temperatures are beginning to cool to around 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit after the fierce heat of Summer. This also gives the team the Winter months to write up the season's work and process the raw geophysical data in publishing form.

Seeing Beneath the Sand - The Geophysics
The project uses the techniques of modern science to explore the remains of ancient Egypt hidden beneath the sand. The methods used are either active (touching or probing the ground), or passive (not touching the ground).

Resistivity
An active method where the probes are pushed into the ground. An electric current is passed through them and measured. Some materials allow electricity to pass easily but others are very resistant. Looking at how these measurements vary over an area makes it possible to locate objects buried beneath the sand. This method is excellent for finding walls and large stone structures up to 10 to 15 metres below the surface.

Conductivity
A passive method of measuring the electrical properties of underground materials. A 4 metre long plastic pole has a transmitter at one end and a receiver at the other. The difference in the electrical properties of the material below the pole can then be measured. The survey is made at walking speed, so large areas can be covered quickly and depths of up to 4 metres can be penetrated. This gives a good general picture of the area.

Ground Penetration Radar
An active method where a transmitter and receiver are pulled along the surface. Radio waves are sent through the ground. They continue to travel until they meet an object, which reflects them. The radio waves bounce back to the surface and the time taken to travel the distance can be measured. The results produce a picture of what is under the ground to a depth of 3 to 4 metres. This method is very useful for locating individual graves and tombs.

Magnetic Gradiometer
A passive method that measures the magnetic field of the earth and compares this with the magnetic fields produced by the materials beneath the instrument. When plotted, this builds up a very good picture of what lies 3 to 5 metres below the ground. This method is excellent for picking up mud-brick structures. The computer picture looks just like an aerial photograph of surface ruins, when they are actually buried deep beneath the sand.

Funding of the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project
The Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project is sponsored by Glasgow Museums and supported by The Friends of Glasgow Museums, the Wainwright Fund (Oxford), the Russell Trust, and private and corporate donors.

If you would like to support the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project, please contact:

Ian Mathieson
Project Director
Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project
48 Thirlestane Drive
Lauder
Berwickshire
TD2 6TS
Email: museums@csglasgow.org and refer to the Saqqara Project.

Saqqara Project Team

Dr M Anthony Leahy, Co-director, Egyptologist and archaeologist. Senior Lecturer, University of Birmingham, formerly editor of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. Excavated at Malqata, Amarna and Balamun. Egyptologist and archaeologist to the Saqqara mission since 1999.

Ian J Mathieson, Co-director and geo-archaeologist. BA (Geology), M.Sc. (Civil Eng.). Civil engineer and geodetic surveyor; remote sensing and geo-archaeological surveys in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Amarna and Memphis for the EES, Director of the Saqqara mission since 1990.

Dr Carla Gallorini, Archaeologist and ceramicist. PhD. (Egyptology, UCL), BA (Hon. Pisa). Egyptologist; Research Assistant British Museum, Petrie Museum; excavations at Abydos 2001, Biahmu 2000, Tell el-Babamun 1995, EES Team Memphis 1995-2000, and Saqqara mission since 2001.

Dr Jonathan Dittmer, Geophysicist and Surveyor. B.Sc. (Hon), D.Phil. (Geophysics, York), Archaeological sensing surveys 1986-90; Italica (Spain) Roman town survey; Resistivity survey Wadi el-Assiuti 1993 (Egypt); geophyicist to the Saqqara mission since 1994.

Dr Salima Ikram, Faunal Analyst. PhD (Cambridge), Assistant Professor American University Cairo. Faunal analyst Gebel el-Haradi (1991-95); Sudan Archaeological research Survey 1993-94 (Bejrawiya to Atbara); member of the Saqqara mission since 1995.

Dr Elizabeth Bettles, Archaeologist and epigrapher. PhD (UCL), BA (Hon) Egyptology and Coptic (Liverpool) MA Archaeology (UCL), Senior Researcher Oxford. Excavation experience in Roman, medieval and Mesolithic sites in the UK; epigraphic, ceramics and survey experience in Egypt; Member of St Anne's College, Oxford; archaeological team at Saqqara 1985-1995; member of Saqqara mission since 1994.

Colin Reader, Consultant Geologist. B.Sc. (University of London). Specialist geological and environmental studies of ancient land forms; interpretation of the geological structure of the Saqqara plateau for the Saqqara mission since 1999.

Dan Lines, Archaeologist and surveyor. BA (Hon. Birmingham), Mphil. (Cambridge). Lecturer at Cambridge. Excavation and survey at Sais 1999-2000. Member of the Saqqara mission since 2001.

If you would like to support the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project, please contact:

Supporting the Saqqara Survey Project
You can support the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project through The Scottish Egyptian Archaeological Trust, a registered Scottish Charity, no. 037796.

The Trust makes no administrative charges on donations earmarked for the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project and is able to claim through Gift Aid the tax that has been paid on donations from British taxpayers.

Donations
Donations should be sent to:

David Heggie
Secretary & Treasurer
36 Hallhead Road
Edinburgh
EH16 5QJ

Cheques or bank drafts should be made payable to The Scottish Egyptian Archaeological Trust.

Forms for the reclaim of tax and advice on methods of payment from outside the United Kingdom can be provided.

General enquiries
Send enquiries about the Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project to museums@csglasgow.org and refer to the Saqqara Project.