CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library DT 137.F2B87 Fayum and Lake Mris. 3 1924 028 632 481 ...,,.„ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028632481 THE FAYUM AND LAKE MCERIg. q: O H < _l n o UJ z <3 I THE FAYUM AND LAKE MCEEIS. BY MAJOR E. H. BROWN, Royal Engineers, INSPECTOR GENERAL OF IRRIGATION, UPPER EGYPT. WITH A PKEFATOEY NOTE BY COL. SIE COLIN SCOTT-MONCRIEFF, K.C.M.G., C.S.L ^nti HUtistrations FROM PHOTOGBAFSS BY THE AVTEOB. LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD, 26 & 27, COCKSPUR STREET, CHARING CROSS, S.W. 1892. PREFATOEY NOTE. DuraxG the last nine years it has fallen to the honourable lot of a small band of English engineers, most of them trained in India, to effect a, revolution in the irrigation system of old Egypt, and thereby materially to improve the wealth and agricultural prosperity of the country. This is not the place, nor would it be becoming on my part to tell what has been effected. "We had the happy fortune to find things at their lowest ebb. We could bardly make a change without making an improvement. In all these improvements Major Robert Hanbury Brown, R.E., has from the first occupied a conspicuous place. Few Englishmen bave gone through so many summer seasons as he has, in the blaziDg beat of Upper Egypt. For that has been his field of labour, and of that field the fertile, abnormal, neglected, quaint old Province of the Fayum forms a part. Truly, an old world province ! whose historical roll carries us back to very early days, before that venerable Sheikh Abraham had made his emigration from Assyrian Haran — a province abundantly watered, and tlierefore rich, and highly prized by Pharaoh and Ptolemy, Cresar and Arab Khalif, until Mameluke misrule and Turkish brutish ignorance let it fall into decay. It has fallen to Major Brown to help to restore the Fayura, and he has tlius obtained a very intimate knowledge of it. He is not the first author on this subject. Learned Germans and brilliant Frenchmen have already written on the Fayum. Major Brown pretends neither to the learning of the one, nor to the brilliancy of the other, but he has, what neither one nor the other ever had, an accurate knowledge of the levels of the countr}'. This information is quite indispensable to the hydraulic engineer, and it is strange that that distinguished Frenchman M. Linant de Bellefonds, who devoted so many years to the physical improvement of Egypt, should have been evidently without it. ( vi ) Of course Majoi' Brown could not write of the Fayum without intro- ducing the mystic Lake Moeris. Herodotus does not lie when he tells of the things he has actually seen, and he says he saw Lake Moeris. So it must have existed. But where was it? That is the question that has been asked from one generation to another. In the following pages Major Brown, in simple, straightforward language, gives his opinion^ and the reader may be sure that he does not talk of what he does not know. Whether his conclusions are correct or not, this account of the Fayum is an important addition to our knowledge of the subject. Colin Scott-Moncriefp, Late Under-Secretary of State, Public Works Ministry, Cairo. London, September 1st, 1892. INTRODUCTION THE FATUM OF TO-DAY ( V" ) CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. CHAPTER IL ANCIENT TESTIMONY ABOUT LAKE MCBRIS . 19 CHAPTER HI. THEOEIES AS TO WHEEE AND WHAT LAKE MCERIS WAS Gekebal Bemabks, 25 — Linant Theoky, 28— Cope Whitbhouse Theoby, 40 — Linant's Objections to Theory Pavodked, 48 — W. M. F. Peteie's Views, 5G 25 CHAPTER IV. HISTORY OF THE FAYUM PROVINCE The Fayi>m befoee Lake Mceeis, 61 — The Fayum as Lake Mceris, 69 — Trans- formation OF Lake Mceeis to the PayCm of To-day, 94 61 CHAPTER V. THE FAYUM IN THE FUTURE, AND POSSIBLE UTILISATION OF THE WADI RAIAN 105 ( viii ) LIST OF PLATES. II. III. IV. V.- VI. VII.- vin. IX.- X.- XI.- XII.- XIII.- XIV.- XV.- XVI.- XVII. XVIII.- XIX.- XX.- XXI.- XXII.- XXIII.- XXIV.- XXV.- XXVI.- XXVII.- Old Laliun Eegulator. From a Photograph talcen hy the Author. Frontispiece . — The Bahr Yusuf skirting the Libyan Desert. From a Photograph talcn htj the Auilwr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face — Bazar Street Bridge, Medinot-el-Fayum. From a Photograph taken hy the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face — Tunnel on Bahr Yiisuf. From a Photograph taken hy the Author. To face — Water-wheels on Canal Tamiyah. From a Photograph taken hy the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To face — Diagrams of two kinds of Water-wheels — Nasbah Mitertaris. From a Photograph taken hy the Author To face — Map showing the " Linant " Lake Moeris — Section of the Fayum through the Linant Lake — Diagram to scale showing Outline of Linant Lake — Cross sections of Minia Wall and Edwah Bank — Linant's and actual Sections of the Fayum — Part of Egypt from Map of CI. Ptolemy —Proposed Wadi Eaian Eeservoir — Exterior, Schweinfurth's " Temple." From a Photograph taken by the Author . . . . . . . . . . , . . . To face -Interior, Ditto. From a Photograph taken hy the Author . . To face -Ground plan. Ditto -Medinet-el-Fayum. From a Photograph taken hy the Author . . To face -Cross section of 50 miles on lat. 30° -Contoured Diagram of the Fayum Depression . . -Map of Lake Moeris -Map to show position of Edwah Bank and supposed Lake Moeris Eegiilators -Biahmu Euins. From a Photograph taken hy the Author .. To face -Eestoration of Biahmu Euins by Petrio -Modified representation of Biahmu Euins Eestored . . -Sections of Bahr Yusuf Valley and Eavine behind Hawarat-el-Maqta -Sketch Map of the ground between Hawarat-el-Maqta and Hawarah Pyramid -Sections of Lahun Banks Map of the Fayiam Province . . . . . . . . . . End of 11 13 15 15 17 29 31 33 35 36 45 46 51 53 53 57 63 65 73 75 77 84 86 98 100 103 Book THE FAYUM AND LAKE MOEEIS. INTEODUCTION. I COMJIEXCED this paper with the sole object of giving a technical description of irrigation in the Fayum Province as practised to-day, for the information of my brother officers in the Royal Engineers. But let any one turn his face towards the Fa^'um, he is sure to see the speculator's will-o'-the-wisp of Lake ]Moeris, which must needs be followed over the marshy borders through a tangle of theories left high and dry, until the pursuer is submerged deep beneath the waters of the lake, and has to find his way out again as best he can with a theory of his own begetting or adopting. The question of where and what Lake Moeris was has been guessed at by many, and some of the guesses have been rather wild and regardless of the attributes which the lake of the theory must be demonstrated to have, before it can be recognised as Lake Moeris. In the time of the early Nile tourist and historian Herodotus, about 450 B.C., there existed in Egj'pt an extensive lake, known as Lake Moeris, of such dimensions, levels, and geographical position, that it absorbed the surplus waters of the overflowing Nile, and afterwards gave back to the dwindling river the water it had received from it, thus becoming a regu- lator to diminish the excesses of the Nile floods, and to supply the short- comings of the shrunken summer flow. The benefits resulting to the land of Egypt from such a moderator of high and low Niles were supjDOsed to liave B 2 THE FAYUM AND LAKE MCEBIS. been great, and the idea of the possibility of restoring the boon to Egypt by the discovery of the true position of the ancient Lake Moeris has helped to increase the interest in the subject, which curiosity about one of the lost wonders of the world in the once glorious kingdom of the Pharaohs would alone have been sufficient to excite. At the end of a long letter to Mr. Paul Ascherson about a journey in the Fayum, Dr. Schweinfurth writes : — " It must have already occurred to you, that I, in these already much too comprehensive remarks, have kept going round about the Moeris question, like a cat round hot broth. I must guard myself from pulling unripe fruit, which in a not far future will be ripe for judgment." This was written in January 1886. Dr. Schwein- furth seemed to expect that discoveries of papyri in the ruins of Arsinoe would be made, and the riddle by them be solved. We are still waiting for the papyri. Though the fear of picking unripe fruit may produce an unfavourable state of mind for assisting to promote discussion, it is far preferable to M. Linant's attitude with reference to this question, when he stated that " J'ai retrouve la veritable situation de cet ancien lac ou reservoir d'eau," and caused or allowed to be printed on the " Carte Hydrographique de la moyenne Egypte, par M. Linant de Bellefonds, Paris, 1854," the following presumptuous and decidedly untrue statement; "Le memoire public' par M. Linant, sur le lac Moeris, donne tons les eclaircissements desirables sur ce point de I'histoire ancienne de 1' Egypte " ! Though more illumination has been thrown on the subject since this unfounded claim to finality was made, there still remains much information to collect about doubtful points of levels, identification of old ruined towns, and so forth, but I do not on that account consider that the fear of " too hastily confusing " the question should forbid the publication of fresh facts and speculations thereon, so long as the door is not slammed in the face of those who prefer to give their support to other theories. I will briefly state the order, and reasons for the order, in which I have arranged the different parts into which this paper is divided. 1 have described the " Fayiim of To-day " first, as a conception of its condition in the past must of necessity be founded on a knowledge of its condition in the present. Next I give the statements made by the ancient travellers, as it is upon them that the ideas, of what Lake Moeris was, are based. INTBODUCTION. 3 I then proceed to try and dispose of theories which I consider erroneous, so as to clear the way for a more correct view ; or at least to expose some of the errors of statement which might mislead others into accepting or forming wrong notions on the subject. Next I give the views that I have adopted, and point out what support they have from others, and discuss M. Linant's objections to the views favoured. Then I have endeavoured to sketch the history of the Fayum — (1) Before it became Lake Moeris. (2) As Lake Moeris. (3) While it was undergoing the process of being transformed from Lake ^Masris to what it is to-day. And lastly, I have added a few remarks about the possible future of the Wadi Raian, and the effect upon the Fayiam of a more abundant supply of water in consequence of the construction of storage reservoirs now under consideration. I have made use of all previous writings on the subject that I could lay hands on. Mr. Cope Whitehouse kindly lent me his papers and showed me where to get others. Mr. Flinders Petrie has also given me what information I applied to him for. The maps and levelling of the Fayum, made under the direction of Lieut.- Col. J. C. Ross, C.M.Gr., late Lispector- General of Irrigation in Egypt, have naturally been invaluable aids to the study of the subject. Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff, late Under-Secretary of State for Public Works, Egypt, has also given me his views on some points raised in this paper, and I have taken advantage of them. Miss M. Brodrick has most kindly assisted me in the correction of the proofs, and in other matters connected with the publication of this paper. Ali Bey Borhan, Chief Engineer of the Fayum, and Monsieur A. Pini, in charge of works, have assisted me by collecting information and obtaining levels that were wanting. Finally, I wish to lay claim to no originality in the views adopted. What I have aimed at in this paper is to work those views out, and to go more thoroughly into them than has hitherto been done, thereby making a contribution to the discussion of an unsolved problem, interesting alike to Engineers, Archeeologists, and Classical Scholars. As the metrical system is in use in Egypt, all dimensions and quantities T! 9 4 THE FATUM AND LAKE 3T(ERIS. are given throughout this paper in metres and cubic metres, and distance? in kilometres. 1 metre = 3-2809 feet. 1 square metre .. .. .. = 10-7643 square feet. 1 cubic metre ., .. .. = 85-3166 cubic feet. = 220-097 gallons. 8 kilometres .. .. .. .. =5 miles (approximately). Discharges are given as so many cubic metres per day of 24 hours. 1,000,000 cubic metres a day .. = 11-5741 cubic metres per second. = 408-9775 cubic feet per second. Areas are given in feddans, which is the Egyptian acre. 1 feddan ,, .. .. .. = 4200-8333 square metres. = 1-038 acre. R.L. signifies " reduced level," or the level referred to mean sea-level : — e.g. " at R.L. 25*00" means that the spot, to which the figure relates, is 25 metres above mean sea-level ; and '' R.L. — 40 • 00 " means 40 metres below mean sea-level. A contour is the line running through all the points which are at the same level above or below mean sea-level. An Egyptian pound, L.E., = 1-^^^ English pound, £. ( 5 ) CHAPTER I. THE PATUM OF TO-DAY. Positio7i of the Fayum with reference to the Nile Valley. — About 50 miles south of Cairo, a branch line leaves the Upper Egypt line of railway and goes west. After crossing the Basin land of the Nile Valley, it enters the western desert, and after a short ascent and somewhat longer descent, it reaches the station of Edwah in the Province of The Fayiim. This province is the most remarkable and interesting of all the provinces of Egypt. It is an oasis surrounded by desert, being separated from the Nile Valley by four to twelve kilometres width of the Libyan Desert, and being connected with it by a narrow neck of cultivation marking the gap in the Libyan Hills, by which the Bahr Yusuf enters the Fayum. Depressions connected with the Fayum. — Forming part of this province, and included in it administratively, is the Grharaq Basin or depression, which is partly cultivated, but surrounded by desert lands above the present limits of irrigation, and in communication with the Fayum by a narrow neck at R.L. 16 '00 (16 metres above mean sea-level). Adjacent to the Grharaq Basin is another more considerable depression with an area of about one-quarter that of the Fayiim (at contour R.L. 25 "00). This depression, known as the Wadi Rai^n, had attention drawn to it by Mr. Cope Whitehouse, who proposed its utilisation as a reservoir for controlling the Nile floods, and supplementing the low summer Nile. This Wadi is now bare desert. Its lowest point is 40 metres below sea-level, and the depression thus corresponds, as a geological formation, with the Fayum depression, the lowest point of which (the bed of Lake Qurun), is known to be not less than 48, and is perhaps as much as 60 metres below mean sea- level, but soundings are required to establish the actuality of the greater depth. The Wadi Raian is surrounded by hills, on all sides rising above the 6 THE FATUM AND LAKE MCEBIS. level of + 36, except at Iwo gaps in the hills separating it from the Grharaq Basin, which have their sills at R.L. 27*00 and 26 '00 respectively. The Faydm Depression. — The Fayum Province has the shape of a leaf, (see Plate XIX.) of which the Bahr Yusuf, from its entrance at Lahun to its end at Medineh, forms the stalk, and the different canals, branching from jNIedineh, the veins. The province is generally described as being formed of three plateaux, but this description can only properly be applied to that part of the Fayum, most rich in Nile deposit, which lies between the main south drain (Wadi Nezlah) and the main north-east drain (the Bahr Bilama or Wadi Tamlyah). The lower section given on Plate XL, which is typical of this part of the Fayum, shows the three plateaux, and gives the different surface inclinations. The contoured diagram, Plate XIX., also shows the conformation of the Fayum Province. The two strips of land outside the main drainage lines have a different character, and considerably less Nile deposit (see Map). Medineh, the chief town of the Fayum, from which most of its canals and roads radiate, stands on ground (R.L. 22*50) three to four metres lower than the land of the Nile Valley in the neighbourhood of Lahun, where the Bahr Yusuf turns westward to enter the Fayum. From Medineh for 8 kilometres the country surface slope is 1 in 1400, for the next 4 kilometres 1 in 666, and then 1 in 150, till the Birket-el-Qurun (Lake of the Horns) is reached. This lake occupies the lowest part of the Fayum, and at the beginning of 1892 its water surface level was 43*30 metres below mean sea ; while the bed of the lake is 5 metres lower at least.* The Fayum and Wadi Eaian together are everywhere encircled by a continuous range of hills, except where the Bahr Yusuf enters through the gap in the Libyan Hills, and also towards the north of the Fayiim, where the height of the hills becomes less, but where there is probably no gap lower than E.L. 30, though this has not been actually established by levelling. The Birket-el- Quriln and Evaporation. — Such being the physical features * A maximum of 20 metres is obtained from statements made by the fishermen. Crossing to Dimay, the greatest depth I obtained was 4 -85 metres, but the fishermen said that at a point towards the south-west four times that depth was to be found, but I have not yet been able to verify this statement. TEE FAYUM OF TO-DAY. 7 of the Fayum, it is evident that there is no outflow for the drainage of the province. All the drainage (except that of the Grharaq Basin) finds its way into the Birket-el-Qurun and there evaporates. The present surface area of the lake is not accurately known, but being about 40 kilometres long by 5 broad, the area is about 200 square kilometres (78 square miles). Notwithstanding the considerable quantity of water that drains into the lake during the twelve months of the year, its level has fallen steadily of late years. The following table gives the measure of the fall from the first of March of one year to the first of March of the next. Level on 1st March. Year. Metres below Sea. Fall. 1885 .. .. 39-80 1886 .. .. 40-00 •20 1887 .. .. 40-38 •38 1888 .. .. 40-73 •35 1889 .. .. 41-17 •44 1890 .. .. 42-00 •83 1891 .. .. 42-78 -78 1892 .. .. 43-32 -54 Total fall from 1st March, 1885, to 1st March, 1892 .. 3 • 52 metres Yearly average •50 nearly. There are no records of the level of the lake previous to 1885. Linant Pasha states in his ' Me'moires ' that Vansleb, who was in the Faylim in 1673, said that one embarked at Sanhur to pass to the other side of the lake. Dead tamarisk bushes standing in the water seem to prove that the lake has in the past been lower by a metre or more than it is at present, for these tamarisks grow along the margin of the lake above the water edge, but not in it. The fall of the lake is not continuous throughout the year, but generally takes place from the 1st March to the 31st October; the level rises from the 1st November to the end of January, and remains stationary during February. If the area of the lake were more accurately determined, there are several problems of interest connected with evaporation and the " duty " of water which might be calculated out from the facts known about the fall of this lake, the level of which is recorded daily. The discharge entering the FayCtm throughout the year is known, as also approximately the areas 8 TEE FA7UM AND LAKE M(EBIS. under crop ; but while the area of" the lake remains so vagiiely guessed at, the results of the calculation would be of little value, as the figure repre- senting the lake area is an important factor in the calculations. But the following figures give a measure of what the daily evaporation is in June and July, at least approximately : — In 1889 and 1890, when there were exceptionally short summer supplies, and the drainage into Lake Qurun must have been as little as it ever is, the lake levels were as follow : — Date. Level of Lake. E.L. Fall in 30 Days. 1st June, 1889 . 1st July )) 31st July )) 1st June, 1890 . 1st July )J 31st July )> 41-63 41-87 42-11 42-88 42-66 42-89 -21 •24 •28 •24 Daily Average. •008 •008 •0093 •008 The evaporation, then, could not have been less than "0093 of a metre j)er diem in June 1890 ; or less than "008 per diem in June and July 1889 and July 1890. Allowing for a slight amount of drainage finding its way into the lake, an estimate of 1 centimetre a day for evaporation during the three hottest months of the summer would seem to be nearly correct. We have also the following figures : — On 14th March, 1890, the lake level was On 18th September, 1890 „ The fall in 188 days was therefore Giving a daily average of .. E.L. -42-00 -43-13 1-13 -006 As, for half this period, the flow of water into the lake must have been considerable, the average fall per diem due to evaporation for these six months must have been certainly over 6 millimetres. Observations on evaporation made in the Abassieh Observatory in Cairo > LU I I- 01 Hi CO UJ Q < >- m lii CO > I < UJ I TEE FAYUM OF TO-BAY. give tlie following figures as the measure of the average evaporation for each month of the year : — Metres. January .. .. .. .. .. -071 February Marcli April May June July August September October November December Total •074 •172 •193 ■252 •299 I Average per diem • 370 \ for three tottest "' " 0107. months. •310 J •226 •179 •120 •098 2 • 864 metres per annum. The average per diem for the three hottest months of the year, according to these observations, is 'OlOT, as against '01 deduced from observations of the levels of Lake Qurtin. The figure given for July in the above list is higher than I should have expected, as the evaporation of that month I should estimate to be very slightly in excess of that of June or August ; that is, about 1 centimetre a day. The Balir Yusuf outside the Fayxlm. — The Bahr Yusuf (Canal of Joseph) is the watercourse that carries the Fayum supply. It is not an artificial canal, but a naturally formed sinuous channel, resulting from the Nile iiood water draining off the lands and following the line of least resistance along the low-lying part of the Nile Valley on the side of the Libyan Desert. Plate I. shows where the Bahr Yusuf touches the desert and forms a line of separation between the fertile land of the Nile Valley with its grateful shade of trees and the barren desert sands under a scorching sun. As is usual in the case of rivers which periodically overflow their banks, the land is highest alongside the Nile, and slopes away from it to the hills on either side. The high margins of the Nile are known in Egypt as the " Sahel." As the Bahr Yusuf has for a great many years been given an artificial connection with the Nile, and been used as a channel to carry flood water to inundate the lands along its course on both sides, it has imitated the Nile in its action on its borders, and raised a "Sahel" of its own on a smaller scale. The cross-section of the Nile Valley is thus roughly repre- sented in the following diagram . G 10 TEE FATUM AND LAKE M(EBIS. A former artificial coDiiection of the Bahr Tusuf with the Nile is plainly visible at Derut, 200 kilometres farther up the Nile Yalley than Lahfin, the point at which the Bahr Yusuf turns westward into the Fayum. The artificial part is easily distinguished from the natural channel, as the former West. Dimensions in Metres East. Was t . is straight with high spoil banks, resulting from the earth excavated to form the channel, whereas the latter is sinuous without any signs of spoil banks. The length of the channel from Derut to Lahun, measured along its wind- ings, is 270 kilometres, as against 200 kilometres measured as the crow flies. A second artificial connection with the Nile farther south was made at Manfalut by the excavation of a channel 30 kilometres in length. The part of this that remains now is called the " Manfalutlyah " or " old Bahr Yusuf" About twenty years ago a large canal, called the Ibrahimiyah, was made for the irrigation of the Khedive Ismail Pasha's large sugar-cane planta- tions. It was made to take off from the Nile at Asyut, 30 kilometres above Manfalut and 61 kilometres above Derut. It absorbed part of the Manfalu- tlyah Canal from Beni Qora to Derut. At Derut, regulators of a fine descrip- tion were constructed for the distribution of the water, and a regulator of five openings of three metres' span, with a lock 8 '50 metres wide, was made as the head work of the Bahr Yusuf, which under the new nomenclature became a branch of the Ibrahimiyah Canal. When the Ibrahimiyah Canal was first LLl I- < _1 CL 3 (n > I < m LU I I- cn LU > o > < Q UJ H LU ILl Cd H 05 CC < < N < CD LU I > tr < o LU a cc m TEE FAYUM OF TO-BAY. 11 opened, it appears from the Memoires on Public Works, published by Linant de Bellefonds Bey in 1872-73, that its discharge was small compared with its present discharge, and the Fayum summer irrigation must have been limited. M. Linant states that the bed width of the main Ibrahimtyah was 35 metres, and its reputed depth in summer 1 • 50 metres ; but, in consequence of the inefficient means of dredging, a depth of one metre at most was all that could be obtained at the lowest level of the Nile ; and he calculates that the minimum discharge, which theoretically should have reached Derut, was 666,840 cubic metres per 24 hours (273 cubic feet a second), but, in consequence of the inefScient dredging, no more than 369,624 cubic metres per 24 hours (151 cubic feet a second) were delivered. Under present con- ditions in the worst j^ears the minimum has never fallen below two million cubic metres per 24 hours (818 cubic feet a second) since, at any rate, 1883. Of the Bahr Yusuf before the Ibrahitniyah Canal was made, M. Linant remarks in the same Memoires, that "it is the only canal in Egypt which, without receiving water from the river during the summer, nevertheless has enough to serve for the irrigation of the Fayum from the springs in its bed." These springs still supplement the summer supply of the Fayum by adding to the discharge, which is apportioned to the Bahr Yusuf at Derut, about a quarter of a million cubic metres a day (102 cubic feet a second). During the summer and winter the water of the Bahr Yusuf is (with the exception of an insignificant quantity lifted for the irrigation of small areas at different points along its course) reserved for the Fayum, but during the flood season its channel is nsed to carry water for the inundation of the lands on both sides of it, and later it is made use of as the channel of discharge for the basins which it has filled, or helped to fill. At Lahiin, where the Bahr Yusuf turns into the Fayum, the quantity of water admitted is controlled by two regulators. The lower bridge is a very ancient one (frontispiece), of what date is unknown. Its floor in Linant Pasha's time had already partly given way, but from his description it would seem to be now in the same state in which it was more than twenty years ago. The npstream half has evidently been added to the downstream half, as there is a clean line of separation in the middle of the length of the present archway. This is only to be seen by entering the passage below the arches, as the junction is not visible from above. In 1838 Linant Pasha caused the second regulator of three openings (two of three metres' and one of four metres' span) to be constructed as a c 2 12 TEE FAYUM AND LAKE MCEBIS. precaution 80 metres above the old one, and it was a very wise precaution to take. The head of water is now divided between the two bridges so that the action is less severe than it was before the second bridge was con- structed. The present discharges passed by these regulators into the Fayiim are : — During the flood season 6^ to 7 million cubic metres per day (2658 to 2863 cubic feet per second). During the winter season 3 million cubic metres per day (1227 cubic feet per second). During the summer season 1^ to i million cubic metres per day (713 to 409 cubic feet per second). The ordinary and maximum and minimum levels of the Bahr Yusuf are given in the list below :— Flood season Winter .. Summer . . Maximum Minimum Below Derflt. 46-75 43-00 42-15 46-95 41-67 Above New Bridjiie, Lalito. 26-50 24-14 22-90 27-80 22-50 Below Old Bridge on Fayflm Side. 23-90 23-15 22-50 23-90 22-27 The Bahr YHsuf inside the Fayum. — At the end of the Bahr Yusuf at Medineh the water-level is now kept constantly at R.L. 21 "70 to 21 "80. In Nile time any increase on this tail level is forbidden by the effect of the heading-up caused by the obstructions met with by the large flood discharge in its passage through the town between the houses which line its edges. The Bahr Yusuf is bridged in this length twice, first by a three-arched bridge, Plate II., which carries the main street and bazaar of Medineh ; and again by a two-tubed tunnel, over which the mosque of Kait Bey is built, Plate III. In passing through the bazaar with shops on either side the Bahr Yusuf is crossed without its being noticed, and a stranger to the town is presently surprised to find himself on the other side of the canal to which he imagined himself to be. O > I < O o I- TEE FAYUM OF TO-DAY. 13 The waterways of these two constructions are sufScient to pass tlie winter discharge with but slight heading-up, but when the flood supply is flowing, they (assisted perhaps by old blocks of masonry and debris of fallen houses in the channel) cause a backing-up of the water of from 50 to 60 cen- timetres and thereby (with the level at the tail below the town fixed at R.L. 21 • 80) produce the maximum level above the town, which it is safe to allow. The distance from Lahiin to the end of the Bahr Yusuf at Medineh along the canal is 24 kilometres (15 miles). Between kilometre 11 and 14 the bed is rock, the highest point of the bed being at R.L. 21*00 and between kilo- metre 12 and 13. The bed elsewhere is generally between R.L. 17 and 19. At kilometre 10 "130, the Bahr (canal) Selah takes off on the right, and after flowing by the Hawarah pyramid and passing under the Fayum railway, its water surface comes level with the soil and irrigates the strip of land bordering the Fayum depression on the right of the main drainage line on this side. Similarly at kilometre 15 "5 the Bahr Grharaq takes off on the left of the Bahr Yusuf, and, aided by the Bahr Qalamshah, irrigates the east slope of the Fayum and the whole of the Grharaq Basin. The strip on the left of the south main drainage line, forming the sloping side of the Fayum Basin on the south, is irrigated by the Bahr Nezlah, which takes off from the main canal at kilometre 16 '370. With the exception of the Bahr Tamiyah, which flows in the channel of the north-east main drain itself and irrigates the distant north corner of the province on the right of the drain, all the other canals irrigate the central part of the Fayum, which lies between the two main drainage lines. These canals may be divided into three classes corresponding to the three plateaux : — 1. The short and high level' canals irrigating the high land on both sides of the Bahr Yusuf and round Medineh, roughly speaking all lands down to contour R.L. 18 "00. 2. The medium canals, which irrigate between R.L. 18 "00 and 10 -00, or thereabouts. 3. The lono- ravine canals, which carry water to the distant parts of the Fayum below contour R.L. 10-00. In a lawless province like the Fayum, such an arrangement of canals is of o-reat assistance in the equal distribution of water to all parts of the province. The long canals of class 3 are, in their upper reaches, so far 11 THE FAYUM AND LAKE 3I(EBIS. below the cultivated surface of the soil, that no crop-owner of the first and second plateaux would attempt to irrigate from them except by means of water-wheels, which have to be regularly licensed. The canals of the 2nd class are intermediate in level and length between the first and third, and do not conveniently irrigate, except at some considerable distance from their heads. There is a further advantage gained by the water of the long canals falling at once to low levels at their commencement. Along the margins of the Bahr Yusuf and round about Medineh is a considerable area of valuable land above the highest level reached by the water in the parent canal. To irrigate this, water is lifted in pitchers fastened to the side of the outer edge of undershot wheels, which are turned by the force of the water descending to the low-level beds of the ravine canals. These wheels turn day and night without ceasing, so long as there is sufficient water, A head of 25 centimetres is sufficient to turn an ordinary wheel which lifts the water about 2 metres, but \a hen greater heads are obtainable, water is lifted in this way as much as from 4 to 6 metres (Plate lY.) A fall of 80 centimetres will work two wheels, one behind the other, which lilt the water 5 metres. The channel, carried by the imposing looking aqueduct of Plate lY., is only 40 centimetres wide by 30 centimetres high, the whole thickness of the aqueduct being only 85 centimetres. The expense, incurred in building it, points to the value of a constant stream of water raised in this manner. There are two kinds of wheels used, one in which the water lifted is contained in earthenware jars fastened to the side of the "W-heel near its outer edge, the arrangement of which is shown by the drawing, reproduced from Willcocks' ' Egyptian Irrigation ' (Plate Y.) The other kind of wheel, called a tabut, has a hollow chambered tube of square cross-section forming its circumference, the holes to admit water into each chamber being made in such a position that the water, which enters the chamber when sub- merged, does not commence to flow out again, till the chamber approaches the highest point of its path. Below the point, at which the flow out com- mences, a trough is placed to catch, the water. It will be seen that in both these arrangements there is a loss of work in lifting the greater part of the water rather higher than the level at which it is utilised. The principle of the tabut will be understood from the drawing given on the same plate No. Y., as the other arrangement with pitchers. Either kind is known as a saq^/a hedSr. > LlJ < CL < d o S ^ •^ C- I ^ ^ ./, < > 2 J a < iJ H O ^ -r. Llj i^ T rt ii -2 1- C rt S 7 r/T ^ - O £i ^ rn a iv- y. -I o ;t^ ^ III f^ LU X ^ ? fc: ^ S re j:] -'-' qI III ■.-^? fcl 1- ^ < ?^ S il3 T 1- Ph a Ll .2 a 2 _j 5 vi ^ I 9 V. ^ CT d most important of these theories is that of Linant de Bellefonds Pasha, once Minister of Public Works in Egypt. His views will be found in Chapter II. of his ' Memoires sur les Princi- paux Travaux d'utilite publique executes en Egjpte depuis la plus haute antiquite jusqu'a nos jours, 1872-1873." His theory, which defines the form and limits of Lake Moeris, appears to have been generally accepted after being propounded, and still to be the accepted theory with many, who have not, by a personal acquaintance with the Fayum and its actual conformation and levels, corrected the ideas which they had accepted on the authority of Linant Pasha. (For the names of places quoted from M. Linant's writings I have adopted the more modern way of spelling, as otherwise the places might not be recognised. For instance, had it not been for the context, I should not have been able to recognise the village known as Abuksah in " Bog9a.") Linants Theory stated. — M. Linant maintains that Lake Moeris occupied the gap in the hills by which the Bahr Yusuf enters the Fayum, and covered the so-called " plateau " on the south-east of Medineh, the encircling bank commencing at its north-east end at Edwah, and being continued through el- Alam, Biahmu, Zowyet-el-Karatsah, to Medineh. See Plate VJI. The remains of this bank he traced throughout this length, and saw evidences of it again to the S.S.E. of Medineh. Thence he supposed that it must have passed on to Abgig (" je suppose qu'elle a du passer a Ebgig "), el Sawafnah, Atamnah, and Gaafrah. Then he found it again constructed in masonry over a great length not far from the village of Miniet-el-Het. It continues afterwards (according to Linant Pasha) up to Shekh Abu Nur, and then takes the direction of " el Grharak in the plain," where it is no longer well defined (" ou elle n'est plus bien marque'e "). He notes that at Bahr Nezlah its height (that is, the wall's,) is 12 metres.* He then makes the bank pass on from the south-east of Se'le (?) to between Shekh Danial and Tutun, in an easterly direction, and turn to the north by Kalamshah, El Nedle' (?), to the Bahr Yusuf, then following the Bahr Yusuf up to Dimishkin, turning along the banks at Lahun (Bahlawan and Gredallah), it again returns to the west near Hawarat-el-Maqta, and, following * Its actual height is under 6 metres as a maximum. THEORIES AS TO WREBE AND WE AT LAKE MCEBIS WAS. 29 the old canal Wardan, passes the Hawarali pyramid at the village of Dimu and joins the commencement of the bank at the south-east of Selah (Se'le'). LU H < _J a. hJ 00 oo Q '-' ^- i» „ SI bn O a All the land enclosed by this bank represents the site of Lake Moeris according to the theory of Linant de Bellefonds Pasha. 30 THE FAYUM AND LAKE MCEBIS. I give here a map, Plate VII., copied from one of Mr. Cope Whitehouse's papers on the Wadi Eaian, being a reproduction from the ' Egypt ' of Canon Eawhnson, as it is a convenient one for demonstrating what this theory is. Linant's Lake Moeris is shown on this map as a dark patch occupying what il. Linant calls the high plateau. The part where " lake " is printed is actually the highest part of the Fayum, at R.L. 22 to 25, if we except the narrow pass by which the Bahr Yusuf flows in. This latter has its land surface at from R.L. 24 to 26. But the word "moeris" on the shaded area lies over a depression whose bed is at R.L. 12 "00, that is, 11 to 12 metres lower than the land surface covered by the word " lake " on the same shaded area. The north boundary of this area through el Edwah and el Alam runs generally along contour R.L. 17 "50, 5 to 7 metres below the high plateau. It is therefore incorrect to speak of the ground represented by the shaded area as a plateau. M. Linant's depth of water in his supposed lake was fixed at 9*60 metres. Its bed must have been at R.L. 21*00, the level of the rock-bed at Hawarah, and its maximum water surface at R.L. 30 • 60. The height of the surrounding bank would have had to be, on the Edwah-el-Alam line, 1 .3 metres, and at the Wadi Nezlah (at the initial letter of " mceris " on the map) 20 metres. Now the country lying between the Linant Lake Moeris and the Birket- el-Qurun was said to be irrigated from this lake. Imagine the state of insecurity for this tract of sloping land, with a huge reservoir of water standing 13 metres above that part which lies along the north face of the lake, and more than this above the part along the west face. When one considers, too, that there must have been passages for irrigation through this bank, and how dangerous such an arrangement would be, it is scarcely credible that the collection of thriving towns included in the Arsinoite nome would have grown in such a perilous situation. Imagine, also, the infiltration that would result on the lands along the faces of this lake. According to the theory, the Lake Linant, not being of sufficient dimensions itself to regulate the Nile, was to pass on the surplus into Birket-el-Qurun by escapes on the two main drainage lines. Thus the poor fools, who had settled themselves on the strip between the two lakes, would be in danger of inundation, both from above and below, and would be in as bad a plight as Pharaoh's horsemen in the Red Sea. TREOBIES AS TO WHERE AND WHAT LAKE MCERIS WAS. 31 A diagrammatic section of the Fayum (Plate YIIL), as it would have been when in this unhappy state (fortunately imaginary), will make the situation perhaps plainer. The diagram, by exaggerating the vertical dimensions with reference to the horizontals, emphasises the danger of the situation and shows how improbable it is that such a theory could be true. Plate VIII. Country Leve l at Medineh ^ ^KitoincircsO /roni Laliuti- „ , { Vertical 1,649 3 c a 1 e ^ , IHorizontal 4727371 Dimensions in Metres Lak Quriin SKETCH OF THE FAYQM From Lahun through Biahmu to Lake Quriin through the highest plateau, showing Linant's supposed Lake. It should be noted that the Linant Lake itself covers the richest land of the Fayum, namely, that which, being near the first point of expansion of the inflow into the depression, had received the richest deposit during the time that the Fayfim was forming previous to the creation of Lake Moeris ; and, further, it should be remarked that the remainder of the best land round the margins and for a considerable distance from the Linant lake banks would have been probably ruined by infiltration. "Where, then, should we find the rich lands of the Arsinoite Nome, so famous for their produce ? M. Linant objects (and there is, doubtless, weight in this objection) to the theory of the submergence of the Fayum by a sufficient elevation of the waters of the Birket-el-Qurun, that there would be no place for the Arsinoite Nome ; and he thinks that by his theory he has found a place for it between the two rival lakes. The ancient Egyptians, who lived before our era, must 32 THE FAYUM AND LAKE MCEBIS. have had prodigious faith in their protecting deities, or in their department of public works, if they took up their abode behind Linant's bank. Such a peculiar arrangement of land and water as that supposed, would scarcely have been passed without notice by those who visited and described Lake Moeris. The Arsinoite Nome would have been in some way described as being between two lakes, with a mass of water impending over it. The danger of such an arrangement in case of a breach would have been surely noted. Imagine also the condition of Arsinoe from its sanitary aspect in the hot months of summer, when by reason of all the water in the Linant lake being utilised, the bed of the lake would be laid bare at a time when no crops could be sown on it. But this objection may be met by supposing the lake to have been excavated to a sufficient depth for water to remain in it at lowest Nile. But if originally so excavated, a lake such as this was supposed to be, would rapidly silt up, and M. Linant supposes it silted up 8 metres, as is shown by his section and description. Could such a lake have continued in working order for over 2000 years, as it was supposed to have done ? It would only have done so by means of periodical silt clearances of such magnitude, that the population of Egypt alone would not have been equal to the task. Suppose only a metre to be cleared over the whole area (assuming it a plateau according to M. Linant's view of it), the quantity to be cleared would have been 250 million cubic metres, which would have to have been removed to a mean distance of at least 2000 metres ! What would have happened to Linant's supposed Arsinoite Nome, and the west bank of the Nile irrigated by his Lake Moeris, while these clearances were going on ? The perimeter of Linant's supposed lake is 96 kilometres (60 miles) measured on the map published in the atlas accompanying the book con- taining M. Linant's theory. Its correct area is 257,800,000 square metres. But M. Linant himself gives the area as 405,479,000 square metres, which is 57 per cent, in excess of the true area as taken from his own map (see diagram, Plate IX). The paragraph in which this figure is given concludes : "Mais nous avons vu quelle foi on devait avoir dans les dimensions donnees par les auteurs anciens." Need he have added "anciens"? M. Linant himself is the greatest argument for placing no faith in reported dimensions of lake areas, since, with his own map before him, and the limits of his lake definitely determined, he was unable to avoid so large an error. The author of this theory states that it satisfies all the conditions TEEOBIES AS TO WBEBE AND WHAT LAKE M(EBIS WAS. 33 required for its recognition as Lake Mceris. I think it will be found to satisfy very few, and obviously not the two following, regarding its size and depth. It is generally stated that Herodotus gave the circuit of Lake Mceris as 450 miles, or 720 kilometres. The perimeter of M. Linant's lake is about Plate IX. Area 257,800,000 Square Metres Scale 226,562 bimensions in Metres OOTLINE OF THE LINANT " LAKE MCERIS." Taken from Linant's own Map. 110 kilometres, but he makes the difference less by adopting M. Jomard's opinion, that Herodotus' " stade " was " le petit stade," whereby the circuit of the lake, according to Herodotus, would be 360 kilometres. Even thus we can scarcely admit this condition to be satisfied. But M. Linant, as we have seen, has no faith in the dimensions given by " les auteurs anciens," but though his want of faith may be justified, his statement that this condition is satisfied is not. Another condition which M. Linant's lake is far from satisfying, is the depth, which Herodotus gives as 92 metres. Linant makes his lake depth 9 • 60 metres, assuming that his lake area occupies a plateau, which it does ]iot. The greatest depth of his lake, according to the actual levels of the 34 TEE FAYUM AND LAKE HKEBIS. ground included in it, would be 18 "60 metres, against the 92 metres of Herodotus. This condition therefore is not satisfied. Faulty Foundations on which the Linant Theory ivas built. — Had Linant Pasha had before him a contoured map of the Fayum, I believe he would never have enunciated his theory. The Minia wall made an undue impression on him and has been his stumbling-block. He clearly traced the remains of a large bank from Edwah to Biahmu, and less plainly to Medineh, but after IMedineh he found no traces of a bank, but being desirous of connecting up Avith the big wall, supposed that it must have passed through certain villages leading to it. This wall, closing a valley encircled by contour E.L. 15 • 00, was probably constructed at a much later date, or at any rate independently of the bank of which the remains are found on the other side of Medineh, and for a different purpose. If this wall had been originally higher there would be remains of the high parts at each end, where breaches had not carried away the original wall. This we do not find, but on the contrary, the crest of the wall is at one uniform level from end to end, and appears to have been added to, instead of taken from. From an examination of the abutments of the bridge, built in the line of the wall, the original wall appears to have been constructed of stone, and to have been widened subsequently by an addition of coarse brick masonry of rough bricks, in mortar made of lime and clay, probably with the view of obtaining width enough to carry an aqueduct along the top of the wall. None of the masonry is sufficiently good for this purpose, and so, no doubt, the water, leaking from the aqueduct channel, gave rise to breaches in the wall, of which the signs are evident in the blocks of masonry lying scattered about on its down- stream side. The cross-section of the wall, Plate X., gives its dimensions at a point near the bridge, where its height is greatest. Below this cross-section another of the Edwah-Biahmu bank is given for a comparison of the levels of wall and bank.* Erroneous Data employed hy Linant. — In Linant Pasha's Atlas, published with his Memoires, is to be found an extraordinary section of the Fayum from Lahun to Birket-el-Qurun, in which the land from Lahun to Medineh * I believe the ridge east of Edwah and running parallel to the railway along its south side is natural. Its crest has a decided inclination downwards from the hills on the east of Edwah. The artificial bank begins at Edwah and runs west, but it is joined at Edwah to this natural ridge. THEORIES AS TO WHEBE AND WHAT LAKE MCEBIS WAS. 35 is shown as being higher than the land of Beni Suef on the Nile Valley side of Lahun. I reproduce his section on Plate XI., and below it I give a section showing the actual levels. As Linant appears to refer all his levels to the rock bed at Hawarat-el-Maqta, which he makes 32 '80 metres above sea, (16.27) J-Iigh ivater }/ia7 -k oj! '.va il (13-03) '-'T- C.L. (12-07) ("•43) Level of rock (lo 21) _L Plate X. (17-27) Stone 7-40 ■-- 8-6o -- Original top oj iva.ll before it 7vas cut doiun "1 to -widen roaeiway. (15-03) ^(13-80) ■ "'^rick' (12.63) V'~~~ — 9.85 ■ -- 10-85 — -i('°7o) 5yjii*^s!^^%*^^^yi.i Present bed of drain (8 43) Scale 200 CROSS SECTION OF THE WINIA WALL. (23-5.6) ^^^3-626) North. Natural Ground South. Natural Ground (19-446) (19-766) Datum L ine R.L. 1900 Scale Horizontal 12,000 Dimensions in Metres CROSS SECTION OF THE EDWAH-BIAHMU BANK AT A POINT WEST OF EDWAH. whereas it is really 21-00, it is necessary before comparison to apply ;t correction of — 11-80 to all his levels. Comparing the figures after correction with those of the " actual section," it will be found that Linant puts the level of the Beni Suef lands 5i to 7 metres too low, and that of his first plateau 6 to 8 metres too higli, with reference to the rock bed at Hawarat-el-Maqta. According to the F 2 THE FAYUM AND LAKE MCEBIS. 111 t S 1%: \i< 6.o?--->'-j jnoqnag 111 I- < _i ;3mp9 j\[ ^ |//> ^t^^IC P jvuvny^p l}n3^ unoEjil.p ^"Od •tt. a; g S o JIJUUES m i"^q pio JO sun ' qauips j(j ^ aSpug unn-B-[ O O ►J ■ _y_ J. u o'^ ;< ►J w F^ -»1 m la W H 55 t^ n *n !- CO ^ ^ Oi (U rf s