THE DESERT BIRDS OF ANCIENT GEBEL EL-SILSILA

John Wyatt teams up with Maria Nilsson and John Ward to reveal for the first time the results of their investigation of over thirty different bird images found carved on the rocks at this important Egyptian quarry site.

- Maria Nilsson and John Ward

Readers of AE will already know about many of the exciting discoveries made by Maria Nilsson, John Ward and their team at Gebel el-Silsila from their recent series of articles. Further research has been on-going off-site, during and before the lock-down, with an investigation of 102 photographic images of 34 possible bird depictions found there. What were those species? Why did the ancient Egyptians choose to depict these particular birds? Did they differ from the species depicted at other known sites to the north? What do they tell us about the various habitats once existing around the quarries throughout the seasons? What further information might they reveal about the lives of the people who lived and worked there?

Gebel el-Silsila

This archaeological site, covering some thirty square kilometres, is situated on both sides of the River Nile some 55 km south of Edfu. The 104 quarries date from at least the Middle Kingdom well into Graeco-Roman times and are known to have provided sandstone for almost all of ancient Egypt’s greatest temples. This area has been one of the driest and sunniest places in Egypt for at least 4,500 years and is correctly classified as having a hot desert climate. Annual rainfall averages out as less than 1 mm although many years may pass between showers. It is not therefore surprising that almost all the reliefs of birds (none appear to have ever been painted) are weathered or otherwise damaged, making absolute identification rarely possible. The fact that they were also mostly done simply, quickly, not always accurately and with corrections, made for primarily industrial rather than artistic purposes, has also added to that difficulty. Nevertheless, some diagnostic features do provide enough information to enable the identification of probable bird families and even, occasionally, individual species.

Ostriches