'The Nile' is a trip through Egypt's history via its river
When Gustave听Flaubert visited the south of Egypt in 1849, he claimed听the local Egyptians were听using the temple of Horus at Edfu as a public latrine. While probably somewhat accurate, the accusation听was not quite fair. Sand听buried听most of the temple until around 1860, and 64 modern houses stood on the temple roof. As听in many areas around the world with a long history of human settlement,听a modern neighborhood had emerged above a site of great antiquity.
From the 19th-century use of the听Giza听pyramids as stone quarries for construction in Cairo to the 20th-century Theban villagers who built听houses above tomb听shafts and sold the treasures from their "basements"听for extra cash, many examples suggest that some听Egyptians听have been quite willing to use the artifacts of the past in service of their present needs.
But听Flaubert's own听countrymen often destroyed and听stole ancient Egyptian antiquities听without even the听justification听of convenience or cultural patrimony.听A French听engineer sawed听a stunning zodiac from the temple of Dendera in 1821, and the French transported a 250-ton obelisk听from Luxor to Paris a decade later. Looting听and archaeology were often hard to distinguish in the 19th century.
Winding its way through Egypt, the Nile River shaped听the ancient civilizations that continue to attract looters, archaeologists, and tourists alike. The river provides the structure for Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson's new book听The Nile: A Journey Downriver Through Egypt's Past and Present.听
The Greek historian Herodotus famously described Egypt as "the gift of the Nile," and Wilkinson shows the many senses in which the observation is true. The river's annual flooding not only initiated the ancient calendar year, it also watered听the crops that made the otherwise austere landscape habitable. The Nile's imagery permeated ancient art and literature, its animals inspired religious practices 鈥� sacred crocodiles, anyone? 鈥� and its听sunbaked mud furnished the principal building material for domestic architecture. Customs, food, houses, and art were all aspects of the Nile's听gift.
Before the 2011 revolution, the seasonal influx of tourists to Egypt seemed to be听a force at least as life-giving as the Nile鈥檚 annual flood. While roughly听90 percent of the ancient Egyptian economy involved agriculture, the figure has fallen to roughly 30 percent today, with tourism making听up some of the difference. The dam at Aswan, built听to improve听agricultural yields through more precise control of irrigation,听helped听enable a population boom in the early 20th century. But its听high walls听also trapped听silt that enriches soil quality, and chemical fertilizers are now needed to grow crops in听much of the country.
The building of the dam submerged听several known听ancient monuments and countless ones that were still undiscovered. But if the Aswan听Dam's construction was an听example听of the demands of the present overwhelming the claims of the past, many other听instances听reversed these priorities. Under Mubarak, an entire听modern听village in western Thebes was demolished and relocated to promote tourism.
Wilkinson听ostensibly describes听a听journey down the Nile from Aswan in听the south to Cairo in the north. But every site he visits triggers a series of reflections听on details spanning the entire history听of Egyptian civilization. Covering everything from听rock art made 7500听years before the pyramids to the lore听of 19th-century tomb-robbers and archaeologists, Wilkinson听deftly听illustrates the听striated density of Egypt鈥檚 long past.听
One of the central themes听he pursues听is the continuity of certain practices over long time periods. In southern Egypt, he spots mud听brick baking in the sun outside ancient Nekheb's听city wall, a structure听which was made from identical mud bricks 2400 years before. Even the throngs of modern tourists have an ancient precedent. In Thebes, over 2000 ancient Greek and Roman graffiti have been recorded in the Valley听of the Kings. The sentiments of ancient visitors are also familiar: one Greek graffito declares that its author has had "a delightful day" among tombs of "astounding horror." The same macabre pleasure still drives countless tourists to the tombs.听听
One thing that has changed听is the level of听danger听faced by听archaeologists. In the 19th century,听Gertrude Caton-Thompson, the first prominent female Egyptologist, slept during excavations in an abandoned tomb听beside a family of cobras. Flinders Petrie, the father of Egyptology, once tracked听down a tomb-robber by following his footprints in the sand.听But even here there is continuity: terrorist strikes听in southern Egypt have听made work听difficult and visits dangerous for archaeologists and tourists.
Despite the many ways Egypt and the听field of Egyptology have changed, the persistence of certain practices is听inescapable. Around 7000 years ago, farmers in Fayum听stored听grain in plastered pits dug on听their land. Archaeologists were anxious to preserve these early signs of agriculture,听and the farmer on whose land they lay听agreed听at the last minute听to work around them. He'd almost plowed听over the earliest evidence of agriculture in Egypt.
Nick Romeo is a Monitor contributor.
