Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham
Encyclopedia
Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham is located on the North coast of Egypt 20 km to the west of Marsa Matruh
, and about 300 km to the west of Alexandria
During the reign of Ramesses II
, it was the location of a fortress which marked the western extent of direct Egyptian
influence.
It was discovered in 1948 and in the subsequent years was sporadically examined by Alan Rowe
and Labib Habachi
, between 1994 and 2001 extensive excavations were undertaken by a University of Liverpool
under the direction of Steven Snape.
Marsa Matruh
Marsa Matrouh is a Mediterranean seaport and the capital of the Matrouh Governorate in Egypt. It is west of Alexandria and 222 km from Sallum, on the main highway from the Nile Delta to the Libyan border. Another highway leads south from the town, toward the Western Desert and the oases of...
, and about 300 km to the west of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
During the reign of Ramesses II
Ramesses II
Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...
, it was the location of a fortress which marked the western extent of direct Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
influence.
It was discovered in 1948 and in the subsequent years was sporadically examined by Alan Rowe
Alan Rowe
Alan Rowe was a New Zealand-born English actor, perhaps best known for his appearances on the British science fiction programme Doctor Who.-Career:...
and Labib Habachi
Labib Habachi
Labib Habachi was an influential Egyptian Egyptologist.Dr Habachi spent 30 years in the Antiquities Department of the Egyptian Government, ending his career as Chief inspector. During this period he spent an enormous amount of time in numerous dig sites in Egypt and the Sudan...
, between 1994 and 2001 extensive excavations were undertaken by a University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
under the direction of Steven Snape.
Further reading
- L. Habachi: The Military Posts of Ramesses II on the Coastal Road and the Western Part of the Delta, in: BIFAO 80 (1980), S. 13-30
- S. R. Snape: Walls, Wells and Wandering Merchants: Egyptian Control of the Marmarica in the Late Bronze Age in: C.J. Eyre (Hrsg.), Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Egyptologists, Leuven 1998, S. 1081-84
- S. R. Snape: The excavations of the Liverpool University Mission to Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 1994-2001, in: ASAE 78 (2004), S. 149-160, Kairo.