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Maps on Digital Egypt for Universities: background

Most of the larger maps on Digital Egypt for Universities are based on a series of maps published by 'The Egyptian Survey Authority'. The maps were produced between 1987-1995. The published scale of them is 1:50 000. For Digital Egypt they have been much reduced in scale and detail. Some other maps for which the series was not available (especially those from the Delta) are taken from different sources and are originally of different scale (1:250 000). They are therefore less detailed.

Digital Egypt for Universities tries to mark as many archaeological sites as possible. However, there are several problems. Numerous archaeological sites are not marked on any map and only described as being in a certain distance from a modern place. Other sites are marked on maps of old publications, but the landscape changed over the last years so much that it is often hard to locate these places on modern maps, especially when no excavations or surveys have recently been conducted in the area. Therefore, on the DEU maps, many sites have only been marked with a name as being close to a certain village or town without pinpointing the site with a dot or sign itself on the map. Other sites are placed on the map according to co-ordinates or the position marked on other maps. These examples are listed separately at the bottom of each map with the note: 'position not confirmed on the map'. The maps are kept deliberately as simple as possible. Areas with mixed vegetation (for example steppes or swamps) are shown as cultivation (green) or deserts (yellow), although such terrain falls between the two categories.

Place names are given in the Arabic form, given in the mentioned maps. Some names differ slightly from forms usually found in Egyptological publications. Ancient Greek names of sites are given in italics. The better known ancient Egyptian names are given in brackets under the modern name.

Symbols and colours

red: modern settlement green: cultivation, areas with any kind of vegetation
violet: ancient site blue: water
yellow: desert town with a bishop (Byzantine period)


 

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