Agriculture and environment in the Wadi Tumilat, Egypt, 2nd–1st millennium BC

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation into charred macro-botanical evidence (seeds, grains, fruits, chaff) from the mid 2nd–late 1st millennium BC site of Tell el-Retaba, Wadi Tumilat north east Egypt, the results of which provide insights into aspects of continuity in agricultural practises in ancient Egypt. The primary question being addressed here is to ask if temporal differences in relative presence of charred macro-remains of seeds, grains and fruits of weed / wild taxa at the site are a result of agricultural responses to socio-cultural and demographic changes in the community at this site, or the result of fluctuations in the water regime of the Wadi Tumilat. The present analysis suggests that natural variations in environmental conditions (the level and extent of the flood levels in the wadi) around the town are the prime factors responsible for shaping the variations in the assemblage of charred macro-botanical remains. Changes in pastoral practises seem to have been affected by the changes in the nature of the settlement, resulting in some knock-on effects in the archaeobotanical patterns, but, other than periods of possible expansion of agricultural lands to support larger populations, there is no evidence for any real alterations in the arable farming activities.