The sacred canals of the Temple of Bastet at Bubastis (Egypt): New findings from geomorphological investigations and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT)

Abstract

This contribution highlights recent findings of geomorphological and geophysical investigations that were undertaken at the excavation site of Bubastis (Eastern Nile Delta, Egypt) in order to find evidence of the existence and location of the sacred canals of Bubastis that were described by Herodotus in the 5th century BCE. None of the preceding archaeological missions have reported remains of these canals. Drilling and sediment analyses in 2018 revealed clayey/silty deposits in the centre of the site at depths below 2.5 m above sea level, close to the northern enclosure of the Temple of Bastet. The recovered sediments, with a thickness of at least four metres, were situated below the floor level of the Temple of Bastet of the 1st mill. BCE and contained fragments of pottery as well. Conducted DCR (direct current resistivity) and 2D electrical surveying confirmed the drilling results. These geophysical investigations indicated trench-formed layers of low resistivity values adjunct to the northern enclosure of the Temple of Bastet. The recovered deposits were therefore interpreted as infills that were most likely accumulated in a fluvial system of very low energy, e.g. an ox-bow lake, (abandoned) channel or lake. Presumptively, this waterway was prone to refilling, but also to infilling, by a tributary situated north or north-west of the Temples of Bastet and Pepi I.