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Gharb Aswan – or West Aswan – is the home to 50.000 Nubian peoples on the west bank of the Nile, by the first cataract just opposite the island of Elephantine and the city of Aswan. Among archaeologists and tourists the area is renowned for the “Tombs of the Nobles” at Qubbet el-Hawa and the Coptic St. Simeon’s monastery, both on the UNESCO World Heritage List. But Gharb Aswan is much more – and it is the “unknown” archaeology that I want to highlight in this section of my website.
The "Tombs of the Nobles" at night
My first visit to Gharb Aswan took place on camel back in 1999. I became fascinated by the beautiful desert landscape and the ancient stone quarries, and thus initiated “The Gebel Gulab and Gebel Tingar Survey” together with Elizabeth Bloxam (Egyptian archaeologist, University College London), Tom Heldal (geologist, Geological survey of Norway) and Adel Kelany (egyptologist, Supreme Council of Antiquities). This was back in 2003-4 and since then we have found and published a range of the enourmous amount of archaeological features present. The last field season so far took place in 2008 (scroll down to read more about this and other projects)
Nubian villages at Gharb Aswan, seen from the north
At the crossroads between Egypt and Nubia, the landscape has been the archaeological “stepsister” to Pharaonic Elephantine and Aswan. Our survey, as well as the “The Aswan-Kom Ombo Archaeological Project”, are now changing this. There is little “monumental” archaeology, but a huge range of “invisible” sites from the Palaeolithic through all of history up to modern times. Stone quarrying was always a major activity in the area, but people lived and hunted here, they buried their deads, made rock art and set up thousands of standing stones. The area is also crisscrossed by ancient roads and tracks from near and far. It must have been an area of great significance for the early development of Aswan – and for encounters between Nubians and Egyptians.
A stone workshop with an unfinished statue and St. Simeon's monastery in the background
Like in most parts of Egypt, the landscape is heavily threatened by modern development. A new city is now built in the north (New Aswan City), roads are constructed, villages are expanding and modern quarries are “eating” up the ancient ones. This highlights the importance of conservation measures.
I will try to regularly post information in the News & blog section about various themes on Gharb Aswan – for now, please see the highlights of the “unknown” archaeology of the area, as well as a film and a slideshow. Scroll down to see Gharb Aswan’s location and find out which archaeological missions that have worked here.
Location of Gharb Aswan
Gharb Aswan spans the area shown with a red line on the west bank of the Nile opposite Aswan.
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Archaeological missions at Gharb Aswan
In addition to ongoing activites at the “Tombs of the Nobles” and former work at St. Simeon’s monastery, both on the UNESCO World Heritage List, two archaeological missions have surveyed and excavated at Gharb Aswan since 2004, with permissions from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA):
1. The Gebel Gulab and Gebel Tingar Archaeological and Geological Survey
A British-Norwegian-Egyptian mission headed by Elizabeth Bloxam (University College London) and co-directed by myself. This survey focused on ancient quarries, but also included other archaeological remains. It widened the perspective to conservation, as it was integrated in the EU-funded QuarryScapes project from 2005-2006. The survey area encompassed the whole of Gharb Aswan, but primarily focused on the southern part. The preliminary, major survey report (2007) can be found on the QuarryScapes website (PDF, 13.5 MB). A report on risks to ancient Egyptian quarries includes much information on the area (PDF 12,8 MB). On the website of the Geological Survey of Norway there is information on the final publication of the QuarryScapes project. The last survey season was in 2008.
2. The Aswan-Kom Ombo Archaeological Project
A British-Italian-American mission directed by Maria Carmela Gatto, currently at the Yale University (USA). This project has focused on the interaction between Nubian and Egyptian peoples in the Aswan region in Prehistory and particularly in the Predynastic period (4th millennium BC). It has excavated habitation and burial sites and also focused on rock art and conservation issues in the same area as the QuarryScapes project, but primarily in the northern part. There is no website of the project, but see these recent, free publications by Maria Gatto and colleagues to get a glimpse of activities and findings: The landscape reconstruction of the Prehistoric habitation site of Naq el-Qarmila and about cultural interaction in the Aswan area in the 5-4th millennium BC. See also a publication about very important rock art in the area.
Previous missions
With a focus on areas close to the Nile, various archaeological investigations have been carried out at Gharb Aswan for more than a hundred years. Some of the most important are:
The German and Swiss missions at Aswan: The German and Swiss institutes are sometimes involved in archaeological work at Gharb Aswan. Their main, long-standing work is at Elephantine and within modern Aswan city.
Wadi Kubbaniya Palaeolithic sites: Palaeolithic habitation sites were surveyed and excavated by the “Combined Prehistoric Expedition” led by Fred Wendorf and Romuald Schild in the 1970s and 1980s. It uncovered now famous Late Palaeolitic (c. 20-15.000 BP) seasonal encampments, where the very beginnings of agriculture can be traced in the form of systematic collection and storage of wild plants. For an overview, see Barich’s book “People, Water and Grain” (1998). A brief web presentation can be found here.
Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman quarries at Gebel Gulab and Gebel Tingar: Around 1980 Rosemarie and Dietrich Klemm surveyed the Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman silicified (or quartzite) quarries in the area between Gebel Gulab and Gebel Tingar (published in “Steine und Steinbrüche im Alten Aegypten” 1993, English edition 2009).
Rock art survey: In the 1930s Hans Alexander Winkler found an important rock art location at Gharb Aswan (site no. 53) during his surveys in Upper Egypt and the adjacent deserts. The location was published in 1938.
“The Nubian Highway”: Arthur Weigall’s amusing book “Travels in the Upper Egyptian Deserts” includes an entertaining chapter on the desert roads leaving from Gharb Aswan (“A Nubian Highway” from 1913, re-published in 2005), but was not based on detailed survey. A starting point of the roads, the sanctuary at Gebel Tingar, has been investigated several times since then, e.g. by Horst Jaritz and Stephan Seidlmayer.
Excavations by Hermann Junker: Junker excavated two multiperiod cemeteries, one reaching back to the Predynastic period, in the area by Gebel Qurna/Sheikh Mohammed in 1910-11. He also excavated a Coptic monastery built on a Ptolemaic temple in the same area (see free report of the latter excavation here).
Survey in the 1890s: One of the earliest investigation was carried out as part of J. de Morgan and his collaborator’s survey of the area between Kom Ombo and Aswan, published in 1894.
See a more comprehensive list of references in the QuarryScapes survey report (PDF, 13.5 MB).
A part of Gharb Aswan as seen from the east bank across the first cataract, with Elephantine in the foreground
