Magnetic tracing at Abu Sir (land of forgotten pyramids), northern Egypt

Abstract

Abstract An Erratum has been published for this article in Geoarchaeology 20(6) 2005, 659. An integrated magnetic study was conducted at Abu Sir, a locality in northern Egypt also known as the “Land of the Forgotten Pyramids.” Two magnetic tools were applied over an area of 25,600 m2 in order to trace and detect hidden archaeological features near the Temple of the Sun. The acquisition of the magnetic data was initiated by measuring the magnetic susceptibility of the topsoil samples collected within the entire study area. This was followed by a gradiometer survey to measure the vertical gradient of the geomagnetic field over a restricted area of 14,400 m2. The magnetic susceptibility results are characterized by high values in the middle of the study area and a small extension of high values to the southwest. This pattern may indicate the presence of ritual monuments. The magnetic susceptibility measurements identified regions of interest to be targeted during the gradiometer survey. The gradiometer results revealed the existence of numerous archaeological features of different shapes and sizes composed of mud bricks. These features may represent tombs, burial rooms, and dissected walls, and all of them probably belong to the 5th Dynasty of pharaohs. The depth of the expected buried archaeological features was estimated from the gradiometer results and is about 1.2 m for deep features and 0.42 m for shallow features. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.