Canal Linking Ancient Egypt Quarry to Nile Found
Experts have discovered a canal at an Aswan rock quarry that they believe was used to help float some of ancient Egypt’s largest stone monuments to the Nile River.
It has long been suspected that ancient workers moved the massive artifacts directly to their final destinations over waterways.
Ancient artwork shows Egyptians using boats or barges to move large monuments like obelisks and statues, and canals have also been discovered at the Giza pyramids and the Luxor Temple. But the newfound canal, which has since been filled in, is the first proof discovered at the granite quarries in Aswan. Almost all obelisks, including those at the Luxor and Karnak Temples, were originally hewn in the Aswan area.
Larger obelisks can weigh more than 50 tons.
Experts said the canal likely filled in with water during the one of the Nile’s annual floods. Workers would have dragged the large stone monuments onto rafts at a point below the floodwater level, allowing the artifacts to float when the water level rose.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/071024-ancient-egypt.html
Photo from webshots.com
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