The Delta Survey
The Delta Survey started as a personal project of Jeffrey Spencer, plotting on a map of the Delta the locations of as many ancient mounds as could be identified, either from published sources or from personal visits. In 1997 the project was adopted by the Egypt Exploration Society and has since been published on our website. The online records of sites are continuously updated as new information becomes available and to date over 700 Delta tells are listed and described. The EES Delta Survey aims to record as much information as possible on ancient sites in the Nile Delta which are under threat from encroaching agriculture and the demands of an ever-increasing population. In 2007 the Delta Survey was adopted by the British Academy as an ‘approved project’ and has also been recognised by inclusion in GoogleEarth’s Presentations and Link.
Two major fieldwork projects have arisen out of the work of the Delta Survey. At Sais (Sa el-Hagar) a joint expedition of the EES and the University of Durham, directed by Dr Penny Wilson and funded by a major AHRC grant, has been excavating this ancient capital of Egypt, revealing material from the prehistoric to Roman periods. In Minufiyeh Governorate an extended survey, still on-going, directed by Dr Joanne Rowland (University of Oxford) includes excavation at the important site of Quesna.
Dr Rowland provided regular updates on the 2010 directly from the field. The updates can be read here and a series of photos from the work is below and here.
If you have additional information on any Delta site in the Survey, or any queries about the Survey, please contact Jeffrey Spencer here. The database and GoogleEarthTM content were both updated (see 'news' item) in July 2010.