Antiquity

Taking soil samples from the Karnak temple area in Egypt. Credit: Dr. Ben Pennington

Research: The Karnak Temple was built on an “island” created by the Nile, and may have been chosen based on creation myths

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A comprehensive geoarchaeological investigation around Karnak near Luxor found that the site became habitable only after 2520 BC, and points to an elevated island between ancient Nile channels that may also explain the religious logic behind the choice of the site.
An example of a cylinder stamp (left) and its design impressed on clay (right) Credit: Franck Raux © 2001 GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre) CREATIVE COMMON

The origin of writing in Mesopotamia is related to designs engraved on ancient scroll seals

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A group of researchers from the University of Bologna identified a series of connections between the designs engraved on these seals, which date back about 6,000 years (4000 BC), and some of the signs in the proto-cuneiform writing that appeared in the city of Uroch, located today
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