Abstract

During the Graeco-Roman period (ca. 300BC - AD400) an extensive system of canals provided irrigation water to the Fayum region of Egypt, greatly increasing its agricultural productivity. Despite the fact that traces of these important features are still preserved in the landscape, and despite the fact that numerous methodologies have been developed for the study of canal systems in other parts of the world, the Fayum irrigation system has only been examined archaeologically once previously (1927-1928). In fact, virtually everything that is known about these irrigation canals has been learned from ancient Greek documents preserved on papyrus. As a team member of the UCLA/RUG Fayum Project, I have been conducting survey and excavation along one portion of the canal system near the ancient site of Karanis (Kom Aushim) in the Fayum. This paper reports on preliminary results of the first field season and assesses the effectiveness and applicability of the geo-archaeological techniques employed.