US-Egypt Planning Visit and Proof-of-Concept: Building a Tree-Ring Chronology for Ancient Egypt

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This planning visit, led by Pearce Paul Creasman of the University of Arizona, will lay the foundation for a larger joint project with collaborators in Egypt to establish tree-ring chronology (dendrochronology) of wooden archaeological remains from ancient Egypt based on native tree species. Although dendrochronology is widely used in archeology as well as anthropology, ecology, climatology and geology, it has not yet been widely applied to the extensive and well known archeology of Egypt. The planning visit supported by this project will allow for the PI, two graduate students, a senior researcher and one support staff person to visit Egypt. During this visit, Dr. Creasman and his Egyptian collaborators (Dr. Hamada Sadek from the Faculty of Archaeology at Fayoum University and Dr. Alhussein Hussein who is Director of the Grand Egyptian Museum), will initiate a formal collaboration between the University of Arizona and Fayoum University probably via a memorandum of understanding. The team will prepare for the collection/repository space required in Egypt, plan for analyses that will be conducted in egypt, and collect modern samples of living native tree species for further study. This project will specifically examine three native tree types that were commonly used for wooden items and construction in ancient Egypt: acacia (Acacia nilotica), fig (Ficus sycomorus), and tamarisk (Tamarix sp.). Archeological wood samples may not be exported and therefore this visit will help develop a tree ring archive at the Grand Egyptian Museum Conservation Center (GEM-CC). This archive will allow a large dendrochronology map to be developed by comparing and piecing together samples from the GEM collection and will also ensure that many researchers have access to the data and materials. The archeological conservation facility at Fayoum University will provide expertise and equipment. The first step is to determine if any of the three native species is suitable for dendrochronology; for that purpose the modern samples collected from living stands during this planning visit will be exported to the U.S. for further study. The broader impacts of this research are considerable, with the greatest impact likely to be on the field of archeology. If this proof-of-concept study indicates that native Egyptian trees can be used to develop dendrochronology, this project will launch long-term endeavors to precisely date all the historical periods in Egypt, potentially with annual resolution. More valuable still, highly resolved tree-ring chronology for Egypt will enable regional radiocarbon calibration and large-scale climate analyses. Understanding the historical climate will allow assessment of how flood, drought and pestilence may have affected the rise and fall of dynasties, information that could be valuable for humans now and in the future. The planning visit will also include two graduate students, both women, who will base their theses on the dendrochronology assessment of two of the modern species sampled. In addition, this project launches a new area of research for an early career PI.